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AT THE RESfDENCe OF 



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UE%V YOUIC, 



1811 ISTS 



-♦•♦- 



SKETCH OF THE CELEBRATION 



OP THE 



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i-rtg-fir$t ^irtl^bag 



OF THE 



Hon. Horace Greeley, LL.D., 

AT THE RESIDENCE OF HIS INTIMATE FRIEND, 

MR. ALVIN J. JOHNSON, 

323 West Fifty-seventh Street, New York, February 3, 1872 ; 

WITH 

A SELECTION OF THE LETTERS RECEIVED ON THAT 
OCCASION, COMMENTS OF THE PRESS, ETC. 



prepare:^, BY 

CHARLES F. WINGAT 

[caulfrie'd.] iTNJ 



NEW YORK : 

PRINTED, NOT PUBLISHED 

1872. 




Jhe pA^p OF Invitation. 

(For description of the Invitation, see page 19.) 



Mr. unh Mm. m. 

Mequest the 'pleamre of the company of 



. JfafastE 



on the evening of Saturday, %cl Felruary, 1872, leticeen 
the hours of Nine and Eleven, 

TO MEET THE 

J) In the center of the Invitation was 
A LIFE-LIKE PORTRAIT 

OF 

MR. GREELEY, 



t 
I 
% 






(on steel), 

By Geo. E. Ferine, and following 

it was Afat'-simHe of Mr. G.'s 

well-known Signature. 



Bu. Iprnq 




on the occasion of his 
/"'F=5^ SIXTY-FIRST BIRTHDAY. 

The favor of an answer is requested. 
333 West bWi Street, New York. 



Ii^c mtihi m\\td 




-♦-o^-*- 



Since the dinner given to Charles Dickens by the 
press of New York in 18G7, at Dehnonico's, no more 
memorable event hss occurred in metropolitan literary 
circles than the celebration of the sixty-first birthday 
of Horace Greeley, on the evenino^ of Saturday, Feb- 
ruary 3d, 1872, at the residence of Alvin J. Johnson, 
Esq., No. 323 West Fifty-seventh Street, New York. 

History affords few more vivid contrasts than that 
between Horace Greeley, the tow-headed boy, unkempt 
but confident, applying for work at Mr. West's print- 
ing-office, on first coming to New York from Vermont, 
and Horace Greeley— master-spirit of that mighty jour- 
nal, the New York Tribune, and one of the founders 
of the Republican Party, and wielder of an almost 
unexampled moral and political power in the United 
States— receiving the greetings and gifts of innumerable 
friends on this occasion. 

THE GUEST OF THE EVENING. 

Horace Greeley is certainly one of the representative 
Americans of our age. I can find only four persons 
among his cotemporaries fit to be compared with him : 
Lincoln, who was the instrument for releasing a whole 
race from bondage ; Emerson, the high- water mark of 



4 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOX. 

our intellectual growth ; Theodore Parker, the unflinch- 
ing champion of mental and political freedom; and 
Beecher, the apostle of a broad and simple religious 
Hiith. Mr, Greeley unites in his character some of the 
qualities of each of the four. Lincoln had no greater 
feeling for the poor and suffering ; if Mr. Greeley has 
not the intellectual originality of Emerson, he has 
equaled him in his power to inspire young men to 
high effort, and to emulate the deeds of the great and 
good ; his moral courage rivals that of Parker ; wdiilc 
Beecher has not preached a more humane doctrine than 
that which has been taught for so many years in the 
columns of the Tribune. Standing thus on a line with 
the foremost men of his time, he becomes a worthy sub- 
ject for study and praise. 

The most remarkable feature of Mr. Greeley's history 
is that, though all his life engaged in political and other 
contests with hundreds of opponents, he has made so 
few personal enemies, but is widely revered and ad- 
mired. No lines of passion or care mar his face, nor 
are his relations with men severed by many gaps — due 
to personal quarrels or strife. No man was a bolder 
assailer of slavery, yet his name is respected through- 
out the South, and his tour throughout that section 
w^as a continued ovation. His opponents are numer- 
ous, but his enemies are few, and their animosity is due 
mainly to jealousy or spite. 

As in the case with many other persons who have 
lived prominently before the public, Mr. Greeley is 
only partially known to the world. Some of his out- 
ward traits of character, including his special idiosyn- 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 5 

crasies, are familiar to every one ; but of many equally 
striking qualities which he possesses, great ignorance 
exists. Mr. Greeley's strong social inclinations, his de- 
light in reading, love of games, and to some extent of 
art and music, his close sympathy with the young and 
aspiring, and deep interest in their hopes, are features 
in his nature which are quite as noteworthy as his jour- 
nalistic genius or passion for farming. 

The leading facts of Mr. Greeley's history are too 
well known to need repetition in detail, but it is inter- 
esting to recall how large a share of public and private 
duties he has performed, and how varied has been his 
career. Besides attending to his editorial and political 
duties, gigantic as they have been, he has lectured on 
hundreds of occasions, and given scores of occasional 
addresses on temperance, farming, and like themes. 
He has attended industrial and agricultural fairs all 
over the country from Maine to Texas. He visited the 
London Crystal Palace Exhibition as Commissioner in 
1851, and at the same time made a hasty tour through 
Europe. In 1859 he made the overland journey to 
California, the incidents of which are recorded in a 
small volume published afterward. He was a member 
of Congress for three months in 1848-9, and performed 
his duties faithfully, and to the satisfaction of his con- 
stituents. During the past ten years alone he has 
written four voluminous books, all requiring consider- 
able thought and research. Thus no part of his life 
has been idle or wasted, but his record is that of a per- 
sistent and untiring worker. 

As a man is known by the company he keeps, so also 



6 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOIT. 



his nature is revealed by the character of the men 
whom he reveres, and whose example he copies. ]\Ir. 
Greeley's heroes are not figments of the imagination, 
nor mere carpet knights, but veritable flesh and blood 
individuals who have shown real human traits, and 
been specially noted for their generous and hearty na- 
tures. Henry Clay was alwa3's an object of his sincere 
regard, and is never spoken of by him except with 
affection and reverence. John Bright, to whom the 
History of the American Conflict is dedicated, Richard 
Cobdeu, John Stuart Mill, Thomas Hughes, Prince 
Albert, Garibaldi, Mazzini, Carlyle, and Gladstone are 
also among the public men whom he admires, while 
among men of thought he has a special regard for Rob- 
ert Browning, whom he considers the greatest poet of 
the age, and for Emerson also. 

Intellectually considered, Mr. Greeley has a mind of 
rare powers. He is a multifarious reader, and a close 
observer of men and things. Few men have a larger 
amount of general information, or are more widely 
acquainted with the leading features of their time 
and country. His political sagacity is undeniable. 
The World lately said of him : " He has been an alert 
observer for forty years, and whatever may be thought 
of his powers of logic and co-ordination, he has few 
equals and no superiors in divining the drift of public 
sentiment." As an advocate of public questions he is 
cautious, shrewd, and far-seeing. 

Mr. Greeley's strength is derived mainly from his 
deep and wide-reaching sympathy with the masses, and 
to his sincere desire for their elevation and improve- 



TnE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOISr. 7 

ment. Above all things lie is a philanthropist, and 
he has the welfare of his kind close at heart. This has 
secured him the ■vvarm, enthusiastic admiration of his 
cotemporaries, who fully appreciate his worth and 
place implicit trust in his honesty. Disinterestedness 
is so rare a virtue that the world turns instinctively 
toward its owner ; and as a possessor of this quality 
My. Greeley may be ranked with Lincoln, Garrison, 
John Brown, and other sincere men of his generation. 
Mr. Greeley's mind is not given to negations but to 
positive facts. He is a believer and not a doubter. He 
is not troubled by morbid misgivings about the reason 
or cause of our existence in this world, but lie sees 
clearly that our condition is not perfect, and that there 
is a great deal of hard work to be done here — evil to be 
destroyed, ignorance to be eradicated, injustice to be 
checked, and helpless and suffering people to be cheered 
and befriended. This has been his work, to which he 
has bent all the energies of his vigorous mind since he 
came to manhood. Sometimes he has been appalled 
at the misery, ignorance, and vice to be removed from 
the earth, and at other times, like David, he has been 
moved to fierce wrath at the willful stupidity and dis- 
honesty of men ; yet he has never faltered or become 
disheartened at his task, but has toiled on with hopeful 
heart and earnest energy. 

Mr. Greeley's philosophy is purely practical. He has 
no faith in sentimental reforms, and the bringing about 
of a new social state where men shall be ideally perfect, 
and error and vice disappear. He would be glad to 
unite the opposite desires of Brougham and Cobbett, 



8 THE GKEELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



the first of whom wished for a time when every man in 
England could read Bacon, while the sturdy demagogue 
said he would be satisfied when they could all eat 
bacon. Mr. Greeley values material prosperity highly, 
but he also appreciates the need of mental and moral 
growth as well. His desire for national prosperity 
would be satisfied Avere pauperism rooted out of the 
land, and every laboring man able to live in his own 
comfortable home, with a school-house, church, and 
lyceum hard by, and a copy of the Weekly Tribune lying 
on his table. 

Eveiy man's philosophy is presented in his deeds, 
and Mr. Greeley's is simple and yet comprehensive. 
To every one he teaches honesty, sincerity, and devo- 
tion to truth. To be independent is one of his cardinal 
principles, and he is ever urging young men to escape 
from the service of others, whether as clerks, laborers, 
or employes of any kind, and to " set up for them- 
selves." This is the spirit of his constant advice to 
"Go West," and it is useful advice in these times. 
Again, he abhors injustice and cruelty to any one, 
however humble or weak. This explains his ceaseless 
war for the slave, for universal amnesty, for co-operation 
and the rights of labor, and against capital punishment. 
He strongly approves of Temperance, both in drink and 
diet, and he has always consistently put in practice his 
principles in this respect. He believes in universal 
education, so that ignorance shall be banished from the 
land ; also in religious freedom, and he would have no 
man persecuted for his opinion's sake. 

Mr. Greeley's religious faith is broad, liberal, and 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 9 

humane. He is a lover of peace, aud has an abhorrence 
of bloodshed and cruelly. He is the sworn enemy of 
war, and liates oppression of all kinds, not less of the 
mind than of the body. He believes in freedom of con- 
science, and he has no sympathy with sectarian nar- 
rowness. He is of a forgiving disposition, and does not 
believe in strict punishment for sin or error. Neither 
universal damnation nor capital punishment find favor 
in his eyes, and he firmly believes in " General Am- 
nesty," both toward sinners, rebels, and criminals. His 
ethical code is almost too lenient, but he has held to it 
consistently all his life. He believes in attending to 
our duty, and is fond of quoting from " Adam Bede," 
that " a good carpenter is a good Christian." 

Mr. Greeley is an earnest man, but he is not a fanatic, 
like many of that class. He does not shut himself up 
in a cell and grow morbid with bitter bewailing over 
the errors and follies of mankind. He draws fresh in- 
spiration by contact with the masses, and with men 
great and small, on all sides. Under such circum- 
stances he could not be narrow if he would. Luther 
loved wine, woman, and song, and that stiff" old cove- 
nanter, John Knox, so Froude tells us, had a pipe of 
Bordeaux in his cellar, and was a cheery, social man. 
So the editor of the Tribune seeks relaxation in society, 
and is so fond of company that he dislikes even to 
lunch alone. He enjo3'S a game of whist, as Henry 
Clay, his great hero, did, and is as much pleased at being- 
victor in the mimic contest as in more serious conflicts. 

The personal traits of notable men are always inter- 
esting, and those of Mr. Greeley have an individuality 



10 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

which adds a peculiar relish to them. His physique 
alone is remarkable. He is an unusually large man, 
and would be notable in an}?- assemblage for his size, 
while his powerful frame and broad chest account for 
his extraordinary capacity for work. Mr. Greeley's 
face is singularly mild and childlike for one Tvho has 
all his life been engaged in controversy. There are no 
deep lines of care or passion, and his features lack the 
haggard and soured look of Ruskin and Carlyle, and 
other disappointed men. His is essentially a normal, 
healthy nature, with nothing morbid intermixed. He 
has no "Wertherean sentiment or Byronic cynicism. It 
is consoling in this age of ailing and feeble men to find 
one who is sound in mind and body, w^lio never dissi- 
pates, and who scarcely ever has a fit of sickness. 

Mr. Greeley should be canonized by his cotempora- 
ries as an example of sobriety, temperance, and physi- 
cal health. The venerable poet, ^Y. C. Bryant, has 
reached more advanced years by practicing the same 
simple habits, but he has not had to endure the worry, 
care, and physical discomforts which Mr. Greeley has 
borne so wonderfullj^ Few men at any age Avould 
care to go through the editorial work daily performed 
by the latter, and when to this is added lecturing and 
constant travel, his endurance is astonishing. 

Mr. Greeley is passionately fond of reading, and de- 
vours books in an omniverous fashion, his greatest 
taste being for poetry, though he has also a liking for 
fiction and general literature. He is an intense admirer 
of Robert Browning, whose vigorous thoughts strike 
Ills fancy, while Swinburne, Emerson, Carlyle, Thack- 



THE GREELEY BIHTHDAY RECEPTION". 11 

eray, Dickens, Whittier, and George Eliot are among 
his fayoritea. He was a warm admirer of Margaret 
Fuller D'Ossoli, and one of the first to appreciate the 
genius of Emerson, while he has been alive to the merits 
of other writers as thev have come before the public. 

3rr. Greeley's writings always have the cardinal merit 
of sincerity, and had he lived at some other time, or in 
any other country but a Democracy, Carlyle might have 
made a hero of him for this virtue. It is doubtful if he 
ever penned a liae merely for rhetorical effect, and he 
has only written when he had something to say. He 
has covered a wide field of discussion, including pol- 
itics, history, political economy, agricultural science, 
morals, literary criticism, and even religious contro- 
versy; and on all of these subjects he has shown much 
keenness of thought He possesses to a rare degree 
the fe,culty of being always interesting. If it can not 
be said that he touches nothing which he does not 
adorn, yet he so infuses his own vigorous and intense 
feeling into everything which he writes that it over- 
flows with vitality. Carlyle says, "He that would 
move and convince others must first be moved and 
convince himself," and this is the secret of Mr. Gree- 
ley's literary influence. His style is strong, concen- 
trated, and Saxon, sometimes descending into collo- 
quialism, or to the use of familiar popular expressions, 
but never dull, feeble, or turgid. It is the style of the 
man of action, who aims at immediate effect and who is 
careless of ornament or other superficial qualities. His 
words are half battles, like Luther's ; and no one can 
forget the trumpet ring of his "Men and Brethren" 



13 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

appeals upon election mornings or other great occasions. 
As an argumentative writer lie is clear and impressive. 
Henry J. Raymond may have excelled him in stating a 
case, but no living newspaper writer possesses more 
convincing power than Mr. Greeley. In discussing 
political questions he is admirable. His knowledge is 
unequaled in this field, and he magnetizes the dead 
past with his rapid and graphic summaries of events. 
As a statistician he has few superiors, and he marshals 
figures in a most imposing array. 

Mr. Greeley has few professional rivals and no supe- 
riors. There may be abler men in single departments 
of journalism, but for general capacity he is unsur- 
passed. Henry J. Raymond, in a too brief autobio- 
graphical sketch published since his death, remarked 
that as early as 1835, when editing the New Torher, 
Mr. Greeley established himself in the public confidence 
by the accuracy of his statements, by the strength of his 
arguments, as well as by their candid and calm dispas- 
sionate tone, and also by his clearness of thought and 
unusual command of the subjects he discussed. The 
same features have since distinguished the Tribune^ 
and are a prime cause of its power. 

As a journalist Mr. Greeley's greatness is proved by 
the prominent position of the Tribune. To call it the 
American Thunderer would be a poor compliment, for 
the London Times seldom speaks the moral convictions 
of England, but only the voice of men in power. Tlie 
Tribune^ however, in the j^ears of its existence, has been 
the mouthpiece of the freest and most liberal thought 
in the United States, and whatever its shortcomings, it 



THE GKEELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 13 

lias always been the recorded conscience of the commu- 
nity. Take up any one of the five thousand other 
journals in the country, and the superiority of the 
Tribune will be shown by that highest of all flattery — 
imitation. Read the records of the anti-slavery agita- 
tion, and the movement will be found to have centered 
in the editorial rooms of the Tribune. The Republican 
Party was born in its *' sanctum sanctorum;'''' and here 
i!s great campaigns liavc been planned. Wherever a 
man or woman of strong convictions and progressive 
ideas has come before the world, they have instinct- 
ively turned to the Tribune as their champion. "What 
journal in the world ever gathered an abler staff or 
wielded them more effectively ? The highest and bold- 
est criticism in art, literature, and science has found its 
exponent among tliem, and the whole literary field has 
been canvassed for contributors to its columns. 

Napoleon showed his ability by selecting the best 
available men as his marshals, and Grant exercised 
equal discretion in choosing his generals. Mr. Greeley 
deserves no less credit for gathering about him such 
able writers as C. A. Dana, George Ripley, Sidney H. 
Gay, Oliver Johnson, John Russel Young, Richard Ilil- 
dreth, W. H. Fry, J. S. Pike, G. W. Smalley, Bayard 
Taylor, Charles T. Congdon, Whitelaw Reed, J. R. G. 
Ilassard, John Hay, Mrs. Calhoun Runkle, Kate Field, 
Solon Robinson, Prof, Schem, Z. White, Mrs. L. C. 
Jrloulton, Clarence Cook, William Winter, and others, 
vrho have added greater luster to his own talent, and 
have made the Tribune during its whole existence 
Vvithout a superior, if indeed a rival. He has a quick 



14 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

eye to appreciate talent, however humble, and young 
writers receive ready recognition from him. 

In spite of all the slurs about Mr. Grreeley's " Political 
Economy " and " What I Know About Farming," he 
has made many of the most abstruse points of the for- 
mer science interesting, wiiile the latter book is of un- 
doubted value, and will meet the wants of many a. be- 
ginner in agriculture. Either work may compare with 
Cobbett's popular treatises, which they resemble to 
some extent. As a descriptive writer Mr. Greeley 
shows remarkable powers of observation and an excel- 
lent narrative siylc. His attention is given rather to 
the crops and timber than to the landscape, and what 
is practically useful is always supreme in his eyes ; but 
still his observations are always valuable, and even on 
such themes as irrigation he becomes quite poetical in 
his expression. 

The ''History of the American Conflict" surprised 
every one by its impartial and moderate tone ; and for 
a cotemporary work written b}^ one who was an active 
sharer in the events preceding and during the war of 
secession, its tone is remarkably fair. Lastly, the *' Re- 
collections of a Busy Life " will rank with the best 
autobiographical literature, and will take its place on the 
same shelf with the memoirs of Franklin, Goethe, Hugh 
Miller, Lord Brougham, and the lives of Scott, Dr. 
Johnson, Frederick Robertson, Dr. Arnold, and other 
works of the kind. 






THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 15 

THE HOST. 

Having spoken somewhat at lengtli of the guest of the 
evening, it will next he appropriate to say something 
of his liost Mr. Alvin J. Johnson was born in Walling- 
ford, Rutland Co., Vt, Sept. 2od, 1827, and is of pure 
New England extraction. He is the eldest of twelve 
children, six boys and six girls, all oif wdiom are now^ 
living but the oldest sister, who lately died. He com- 
menced his career by working out by the month on a 
farm at eleven years of age, receiving $5 a month and 
his board for the first six months ; and he continued 
laboring in this way more or less till twenty-one years 
of age. At the age of sixteen he bought his time of his 
fother, agreeing to pay him $25 a year until he reached 
his majoritj'-. The fall he was sixteen years of age he 
attended his first term at Black River Academy, at 
Ludlow, Vt., and the following winter he taught his 
first school, teaching in the same place the second winter, 
his brothers and sisters being among his pupils, as his 
parents resided in the district. By the money he earned 
in working on farms by the mouth, and in teaching in 
the winter, he was enabled to pay his father the $25 
per annum, clothe himself (wiiicli he asserts was not 
extravagant), and have just money enough left each 
.year to take him through a term of eleven weeks at the 
academy, until the two last terms, at the close of which 
he found himself about $100 in debt. His education 
was completed at the end of the ninth academical term, 
and the preceding winter he finished his teaching in 
Vermont, when he closed the Ludlow village district 
school — then the largest school in the State, and num- 



10 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

bering over one hundred scholars. For these services 
he received $30 a month for three months and his 
board, or $90 for the time. Immediately after the close 
of this school, he engaged and worked on the farm of 
3Ir. James A. Pollard, Plymouth, Yt. On September 
3d, 1849, he started for Lunenburg Court House, Vir- 
ginia, where lie was afterward engaged in teaching 
nearly three years. He became acquainted there with 
Miss Lucia Helena Warner, of Sunderland, Mass., who 
Avas also a teacher at this time in the family of Dr. 
Henry May, instructing his daughters in music and 
drawing and in the English and French languages, and 
was married to her on the 17th day of May, 1851. They 
both taught a year after they were married. Li 1853 
he came North, and from that time to this he has been 
directly engaged in the line of business he now follows, 
commencing as a canvasser and working as such for 
nearly four years. He now stands at the head of the 
successful subscription book publishers of this country. 
Among the works which he has issued are "Johnson's 
New IllustiHted Family Atlas of the World," — which 
has already become almost as familiarly known as 
Webster's Dictionary, and is quite as valuable in its 
line — "Johnson's Natural History," "Facts for Farm- 
ers," " Hitchcock's Analysis of the Bible," while he is - 
now preparing " Johnson's New Illustrated Universal 
Cyclopedia." His books are admitted to be the finest 
and best of their kind extant, made from the best ma- 
terial and by the most experienced workmen, while 
they have been written by such eminent authors and 
scholars as Prof. Guyot, Prof. Hitchcock, Prof. You 



THE GKEELEY BIRTHDAY TtECEPTIOlSr. 



mans, Prof. Seelyc, Prof. Teiiney, Dr. Thomas, Prof. 
Scliem, S. G. Goodrich (Peter Parley), Solon Robinson, 
Horace Greeley, and others. Mr. Johnson has probahl}' 
the most accomplished and successful corps of canvass- 
ers of any book house in the world, many of them 
having b^cn in his employ for years, and secured for 
themselves handsome competencies. While they arc 
aware that they can obtain much larger commissions 
from other publishers, they know that they can not be 
as Avell protected elsewhere, and after considering all 
things they wisely " let well enough alone," and remain 
with their old employer, Ilis canvassers are carefully 
selected, as a general thing, from among those appli- 
cants who have never sold books by subscription, and 
not a man (he never employs lady canvassers) is em- 
ployed until he furnishes vouchers for his uprightness 
of character. 

But few men of his age can show so successful a busi- 
ness career, and he attributes his success more to his 
2)erseverance and industry/ than to any other cause, his 
motto being, " time is money." He remarked to the 
writer, " I commenced as poor as a church mouse ; lost 
heavily in 1857 during the panic, and severely in Rich- 
mond, Va., where I had a publishing house when the 
war broke out, but I never had the blues in my life." 
In reply to the inquiry how he accounted for the t\\ct 
of his never having the blues, he said, " When my busi- 
ness is dull, it takes all my time and attention to make 
it better; when my business is good, it takes all my time 
and attention to attend to it, and hence I really can not 
get time to catch the blues." Probably there are no two 



18 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOX. 



men in New York who labor more incessantly than Hor- 
ace Greeley, the greatest jom'ualist of the country, and 
A. J. Johnson, the greatest subscription book publisher. 
Mr. Johnson has been acquainted with Mr. Greeley 
since 1849, when by a strong speech at Chester, Vt., the 
latter converted him from a Democrat to a "Whig — a 
circumstance which Mr. Greeley has since often referred 
to with pleasure. He has known Mr. Greeley person- 
ally since about 1860, while for some four or five years 
past they have been intimate friends. During Mr. 
Greeley's convalescence after his severe sickness which 
occurred in the early summer of 1870, on his return 
from a trip to bring back his family from Nassau, in the 
West Indies, Mr. Johnson often took him in his carriage 
to drive in Central Park,, and the same summer he vis- 
ited his country residence at Sunderland, Mass. It was 
Avhile Mr. Greeley was there that Mr. and Mrs. John- 
son invited him to come and make their new house, 
which was large and roomy, and where he could find 
ample accommodation, his home, as Mr. Greeley's fam- 
ily had already gone to Europe. He accepted the invi- 
tation, and on the day after the State election in Nov- 
ember, 1870, he took up his quarters there, making it 
his up-town home. He has had a room, which is called 
" Mr, Greeley's Room," there ever since. Mr. Greelej^'s 
relations with the family are as one of the household. 
He comes and goes just as he pleases, while his room is 
kept exclusively for him and just to suit his wishes. 
He is the close friend, and at the same time the honored 
guest, of his hosts. During his working hours, while 
there, he maintains a sacred seclusion in his room, but 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 19 

at Other times he joins with the family circle, and en- 
gages freely in their pleasures and conversation. He 
plays euchre with the family and discusses politics with 
Mr. Johnson, while Mrs. Johnson looks after his linen 
with a motherly solicitude, as if the great editor was 
merely, as she often calls him, her " elder son," as well 
as a welcome guest. 

THE OCCASION. 

In view of these circumstances, it was natural that if 
any one should give Mr. Greeley a birthday entertain- 
ment, his warm friend and admiring host would be the 
person to do so, especially as he had ample room and 
means for carrying out such a celebration. The idea 
had no sooner been suggested than its execution was 
planned, and it was almost immediately carried into 
effect. Mr. Greeley himself offered not the slightest 
objections, and who could do so under such pleasing 
circumstances? A long list of persons was made out, 
to each of whom an invitation, bearing an engraved 
steel portrait of Mr. Greeley upon its center, was sent. 

THE INVITATION 

(See Second Page) 

was quite a work of art and ingenuitj^, as it not only 
contained the usual wording of invitations of this 
kind, but a fine likeness and the well-known auto- 
graph of the honored guest. It received many compli- 
ments from those to whom it was sent, and the whole 
work upon the plate was declared highly creditable to 
the celebrated engraver, Mr. George E. Ferine, Nos. Go 
and 68 Reade Street, New York, who is acknowledged 

2 



20 THE GKEELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



to be one of the best steel plate portrait engravers in 
this country. Acceptances to the invitation soon came 
back by the score from all parts of the country, and no 
fears were felt except of the possibility of not being able 
to accommodate the throng of persons who signified 
that they would attend. Ample preparations, however, 
M^ere made to meet the emergency, and for days before- 
hand the caterer and florist with their assistants were 
busied in preparing Mr. Johnson's spacious house for 
the occasion. The evening of Saturday, Feb. 3d, 1872, 
was the appointed time. The programme which had 
been decided on was as follows : At five o'clock a select 
company of ladies and gentlemen, consisting of Mr. 
Greeley's and Mr. Johnson's intimate literary friends, 
were to assemble and partake of a dinner, which should 
be the more formal part of the entertainment. At nine 
o'clock the rest of the company were expected, when 
a general reception was to be held until eleven. This 
order of arrangement was strictly followed out, and 
there was no delay or other cause to mar the pleasure 
of the evening. 

THE DINNER 

was of the best description and excellently served, hav- 
ing been furnished and managed by Mr. James Purs- 
sell, the fashionable caterer, No. 910 Broadway, between 
Twentieth and Twenty-first Streets. Mr. Purssell has 
been in the catermg business for upward of fourteen 
years, and has gained a high reputation in that line. 
On the present occasion the dinner was beyond praise, 
and in ever}-- feature was thoroughly first-class, as was 
proper under the circumstances, and in view of the 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 21 

\ 

select company who partook of it. The bill of fare was 
elegantly got up by Mr. Purssell, and was as follows : 

BILL OF FARE. 

Blue Point Oysters. 
Mock Turtle. Julienne. 

Salmon, Sauce Hollandaisc. Broiled Shad. 

Sweet Breads, piquee, Fricassee Chickens. 

Oyster, Vol au Ycut Lobster Salad. 

Roast Beef, Horse-radish Sauce. Roast Lamb, Mint Sauce. 

Boiled Turkey, Cream Sauce. Braised Capon. 

Green Peas. String Beans. Cauliflower. 

Potato Croquettes. Plain Potatoes. 

Charlotte Russc. Jelly, with Fruit. 

Napolitain Cream. Frozen Pudding. 

Dessert and Coffee. 

The compaii}'' at the dinner consisted of the following 
persons, of wdiom some brief biographical details may 
be given : Hon. Horace Greeley, LL.D. (his family 
were in Europe), A. J. Johnson, Esq., and wife, George 
Ripley, Esq., and wife. Rev. E. H. Chapin, D.D., and 
wife, Rev. O. B. Frothingham and wife, Professor R. D. 
Hitchcock, D.D., and wife. Professor J. H. Seelye, D.D., 
and wife. Professor E. L. Yonmans and wife. Professor 
A. H. Guyot, LL.D., and wife, Professor J. Thomas, 
M.D., LL.D., Oliver Johnson, Esq., and wife, J. F. 
Cleveland, Esq., wife and daughter (j\Iiss Margaret 
Cleveland), F. B. Carpenter, Esq., and wife. 

George Ripley, though possessing all the activity 
of mind and freshness of feeling of most far younger 
men, may be called the patriarch, if not the father, of 
literary criticism in American newspapers, and the ser- 



22 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

vice which he has rendered as head of the hterary de- 
partment of the New York Tribune should alwaj^s he 
remembered. He combines in a remarkable degree the 
learning of the scholar and the practical sagacity of 
the man of the world. As a clergyman, translator, 
editor, journalist, and critic, he has united versatility 
with profundity, and set an example of thoroughness 
which might well be copied by our young litterateur q^. 
He is always independent, but never captious or flip- 
pant, while his criticisms are notable for their good 
taste, moderation, and fairness of judgment. To quote 
his own words in speaking of a cotemporary he " does 
not aiin at an unhealthy notoriety by cynical and 
slashing comments on the literature of the day, but 
preserves a tone of kindly recognition as well as of 
even-handed justice in the discharge of his functions." 
Mr. Ripley's style is terse, sententious, and yet most 
felicitous. He makes no attempt at display, and wastes 
no words for mere ornamentation, while every sentence 
is weighty with meaning. His capacity is shown by 
the number of works which he has reviewed with 
acumen and sound discrimination. He is at home in 
all departments of literature, but he is especially strong 
in treating theological and philosophical themes. The 
literary influence of the Tribune is only second to its 
political power, and Mr. Ripley's critical decisions 
carry with them a weight second to those of no other 
periodical in the country. The American Cyclopaedia 
will always remain a monument to the editorial ability 
of Mr. Ripley and his associate, Charles A. Dana. The 
work of the former in editing the *' Specimens of For- 




eigii Literature," some years since, was equally Avell 
doue, and showed his thorough familiarity with the 
higher French and German literatures. Mr. Ripley's 
memorable controversy in the past with Prof. Andrew 
Norton upon " Modern Infidelity," and his connection 
with Brook Farm, of which he was one of the founders, 
also deserves to be mentioned. 

Besides carrying on his work in the Tribune, Mr. 
Bipley, in connection with Henry J. Raymond, assisted 
in establishing Harpers^ Magazine, and for a long time 
was co-editor of that excellent periodical, to which he 
has also contributed many literary reviews, as well as 
to the columns of the Independent. Personally, he is one 
of the most genial of men. Benevolent, kindly, and 
cultivated, with a mind richly stored with information 
gained by years of study, extensive foreign travel, and 
intercourse with men, his society is naturally much 
sought after, and he is a universal favorite. His unva- 
rying kindness and sympathy for the young are espe- 
cially to be noted, and he is always interested in their 
plans, and ready to aid by his counsel or wise sugges- 
tions. Benevolence, kindliness, and sympathy comprise 
his leading traits, and such a trinity of virtues are 
enough to make any one beloved and respected. 

Rev. O. B. Frothingham, pastor of the Third Uni- 
tarian Church in New York, is one of the ablest clergy- 
men in the Unitarian denomination, and ranks as the 
leader of the radical believers in this country. He 
may be called the lineal successor of Theodore Parker, 
and he represents a large and growing circle of believ- 
ers throughout the Union. A native of Boston, he 



24 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOX. 

enjoyed in early life the highest social and intellectual 
culture which that city could afford, and this early 
training has been supplemented by years of conscien- 
tious devotion to the study of the best thought of the 
age. After entering into the ministry, Mr. Frothing- 
ham was pastor over Unitarian parishes in Salem and 
Jersey City, but owing to the unpopularity of his strong 
anti-slavery opinions, he successively left both places, 
and took charge of his present society. This is a 
highly intellectual body, comprising many eminent 
journalists, men and women of letters, and members of 
other professions. Many strangers also attend, and the 
hall where the society meets is the gathering-place for 
all persons of radical ideas in religion. Mr. Froth Ing- 
ham possesses wide and varied accomplishments. In 
his own special field he is a scholar of no mean attain- 
ments. He has a broad and comprehensive knowledge 
of philosophy, science, art, and belles lettres. He is a 
fine linguist, and a sound critic of art and literature. 
As a speaker he is ornate, poetical, and polished. His 
sermons are highly finished, and can be read with the 
same pleasure that they are heard, while they have had 
a large circulation in pamphlet form throughout the 
country. Mr. Frothingham has been a valued contrib- 
utor to several of our ablest periodicals, including the 
North American Bevieio, while several of the most eru- 
dite articles in the New American Cyclopredia were 
from his pen. He has translated a volume of Renan's 
miscellaneous writings, edited Theodore Parker's " His- 
torical Essays," and written a " Child's Book of Relig- 
ion," and two volumes of Biblical stories, notable for 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. )iO 

their charming style and poetic fancy. His power 
has been proportionate to his capacity, and he is now 
one of the most influential men in his department of 
eifort. 

Prof. E. L. Youmans, M.D., is everywhere known 
as the friend and apostle of Herbert Spencer, and is 
one of the leading exponents of Darwinism in the 
United States. It is to his untiring efforts that the 
writings of Spencer met Avith such an early and ex- 
tended sale in this country, and he deserves the national 
gratitude for making it possible for the American pub- 
lic to possess themselves of the ideas of what are among 
the most extraordinary literary products of the day. 
Prof. Youmans is at home with the best scientific 
thought, and in his writings and in the lyccum he has 
labored to familiarize the public with the truths taught 
by Darwin, Spencer, Huxley, Tyndall, and Farada}'. 
His " Class-Book of Chemistry " has an established 
reputation and is a standard work, wdiile his discus- 
sions of general physics, the bearings of science on edu- 
cation, and like subjects, have been received with de- 
served attention. Prof Youmans has an intense nature, 
and infuses such vigor and freshness into his style that 
he is always interesting. He has enjoyed the personal 
acquaintance of most of the principal savants of the 
day, both abroad and in the United States, and has 
many warm friends among them. 

Prof. Arnold H. Guyot, LL.D., has a European 
as well as national reputation for his scientific re- 
searches. He occupies at once the rather opposite 
positions of original investigator and popular exposi- 



26 



THE GREELEY 33IIlTnDAY 31ECEPTION. 



tor and wliilc, by his discoveries and generalizations, 
he has added much to the existing fund of knowledge, 
he has also, by his lectures and widely diffused text- 
books upon physical geography, greatly extended the 
knowledge of this subject throughout his adopted coun- 
try. Prof. Guyot is a native of Switzerland, and is now 
in his sixty-fifth year. He was the pupil of Humboldt, 
Desor, and Karl Ritter, and has been the associate and 
life-long friend of Agassiz. His whole career has been 
devoted to the ardent pursuit of science, including phys- 
ical geography, meteorology, chemistry, mineralogy, 
and botany. He is best known by his discovery of sev- 
eral of the most important laws concerning the forma- 
tion and action of glaciers, and by his researches in phys- 
ical o-eography. Of this last science he is by far the 
ablest exponent in the United States, if not in the world, 
ranking as the direct successor of Karl Hitter, his early 
master. The political disturbances of 1848 in Europe 
were the fortunate cause of his removal to this country, 
where, after living in Cambridge for some time, he took 
up his permanent residence at Princeton, N. J., where 
he still remains, professor of physical geography. 

Prof. Guyot's lectures in French and English, some 
of which have been published in a widely-circulated 
volume called " Earth and Man," have given him a 
national fame, while, as the above work, with his ex- 
cellent series of geographies and maps, have been 
brought into general use in our schools, he has exerted 
much influence on the rising generation. 

Prof. Roswell D. Hitchcock, D.D., of the Union 
Theological Seminary, is known equally well as a pro- 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



found theological scholar and as one of our most elo- 
quent pulpit orators. A native of Maine, he was edu- 
cated at Amherst and at Andover, and after acting as 
tutor for three years in the latter place, he was licensed 
to preach. He remained in the ministry for some 
time, and after spending a year in Germany, he suc- 
ceeded Dr. Calvin E. Stowe as Professor of Natural 
and Revealed Religion at Bowdoin College, Maine. In 
1855 he was called to be Washburn Professor of Church 
History in the Union Theological Seminar}^ which 
position he has held for fourteen years, while at the 
same time he has preached almost constantly, and for 
protracted periods in the churches of Drs. Adams, 
Thompson, Cuyler, Beech er, and others, with wonder- 
ful power, ability, and success, during the absence of 
those clergymen. In addition he has performed a great 
amount of labor in writing for the press, in lecturing, etc. 
As a scholar Professor Hitchcock has few peers in his 
special department, and his judgment in theological and 
historical questions is entitled to the highest weight. 
It is, however, as an orator that he is best known, and 
in this he has few equals. His speeches during the 
war were among the most eloquent of any at the time. 
John F. Cleveland, Esq., brother-in-law of Mr. 
Greeley, is a native of New York State, having been 
born in Chautauqua County, but he has spent most of 
his life in the metropolis. He has been connected with 
the Tribune for a number of years, tilling several re- 
sponsible positions, including that of reader of the ex- 
changes, commercial editor, etc., while for a long time he 
made up the Tribune Almanac. He is a clear, solid, and 



28 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



careful writer, with considerable statistical faculty, and 
is a very useful man in a newspaper office. He wrote 
several articles in the New American Cyclopaedia, in- 
cluding those on several of the States, in the early vol- 
umes, and he has also contributed to other like publica- 
tions. Mr. Cleveland for a short period held the office 
of United States Internal Revenue Assessor, but left it 
about a year ago to become commercial editor of the 
Tnbune, Avhicli position he still retains. He is a gen- 
tleman of irreproachable personal character, and his 
record as a journalist and an official is without a stain, 

Mrs. Cleveland is known to all New Yorkers by 
the fame of her literary receptions, which have been held 
for many years at her residence in Cottage Place, and 
have been attended by many cultivated and attractive 
people, including many musical, artistic, dramatic, and 
journalistic celebrities of the metropolis. Miss Marga- 
ret and Miss Pauline Cleveland have assisted their moth- 
er in presiding over these entertainments, and have 
both acquired no small fame by their musical talent. 

Joseph Thomas, M.D., LL.D., is one of our best 
known scholars and writers, and has superintended 
the preparation of a number of standard works of 
reference, including the "Universal Pronouncing Dic- 
tionary of Biography and Mythology," also of " Lip- 
piucott's Pronouncing Gazetteer, or Geographical Dic- 
tionary of the World," and of the pronouncing vocab- 
ularies of biographical and geographical names in 
" Webster's Unabridged Dictionary," etc. He is now 
engaged in editing " Johnson's New Illustrated Univer- 
sal Cyclopedia," a compendium of useful knowledge, 



with the aid of Hon. Horace Greeley and other distin- 
guished writers on pubHc affairs, science, art, and edu- 
cation. The w^ork will be complete in three volumes, 
the first of which is nearly finished. 

Prof. Julius H. Seelye, D.D., fills the chair of 
Mental and Moral Philosophy at Amherst, a position 
which has been occupied in the past by such able men 
as Prof E. A. Park, Prof Henry B. Smith, and Prof 
Joseph Haven. There is hardly a professorship in any 
of our colleges which has been filled by so many men of 
the first rank, including its present occupant, who is a 
fit successor to his predecessors. Prof Seelye gradu- 
ated at Amherst in 1849, and has remained with his 
alma mater ever since 1858, though offered several very 
desirable positions in other places, including the presi- 
dency of the young and thriving Michigan University. 
Prof Seelye is an exponent of Hickok's philosophy, 
and ranks highly for scholarship and learniug. He 
has not, however, written or published much, but his 
great reputation is due to his scholastic ability and his 
personal powder over th(3 students under his direction, 
wiio cherish for him the w^armest affection, "while his 
influence over them is all-powerful. Amherst is noted 
for the care taken of each student, for the individual 
efforts of each member of the faculty, and for the 
hearty good-fellowship between professors and stu- 
dents. Much of this may be placed to the credit of 
Prof. Seelye, wdiose name will ever be cherished by the 
students who w^ere under his care. 

Oliver Johnson, Esq., w^as an associate editor of the 
Tribune from 1844 to 1848, and now fills the position 



:0 THE GREELEY BIBTIIDAY RECErTION. 



of editor of the weekly. He lias also been editor of the 
AnU-Slavenj Standard and one of the staff of the Inde- 
pe}ide?it, but he is best known from having been one^of 
the most prominent anti-slavery workers during the 
great fight which ended in the issuing of the Emanci- 
pation Proclamation. IMr. Johnson is just in the prime 
of life, and of a vigorous, energetic physique. 

Frank B. Carpenter, Esq., has a national reputa- 
tion as the author of the great picture, " The Signing 
of the Emancipation Proclamation," and is one of the 
best known of our metropolitan artists. He has a large 
circle of acquaintances, especially among journalists 
and literary men, and he is one of those rare men who 
are always ready to give their last dollar and their 
most valuable time to the service of their friends, m. 
Carpenter's .other works are hardly less known than 
his great picture of the Signing of the Proclamation. 
He has painted portraits of Dr. Chapiu, George W. 
Curtis, Goldwin Smith, Chief Justice Chase, Henry 
Ward Beecher, etc., and is now engaged on a large 
painting of the Signing of the late Joint High Com- 
mission Treaty at Washington. 

Mr. Carpenter's portraits of Mr. Greeley and Alice 
Gary, which were hung in the reception-room of Mr. 
Johnson's house, and were painted expressly by his 
order and commission, were beautifully decorated with 
flowers, attracting general attention, and were much 
admired by the company present. 

Bev. E. H. Chapin, D.D., the eloquent Universal- 
ist divine and lyceum orator, who ranks as peer of 
Beecher among our pulpit orators, is now in the prime 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 81 

of Lis powers, and ripe with erudition and experi- 
ence. He was born in this State and educated in Ver- 
mont. After preaching in Richmond and Boston for 
a time, he came to New York in 1848, and has ever 
since presided over the Fourth Universahst church, 
with a constantly growing reputation. His okl church 
on Broadway, near Prince Street, was one of" the hmd- 
marks of the city, and attracted crowds of strangers, 
especially during the war, when its pastor's ringing 
and patriotic eloquence stimulated many an earnest 
young man to volunteer in defense of his country. The 
building now occupied by his congregation, in Fifth 
Avenue and Forty-fifth Street, is large and commodious 
and is always well filled. Besides attending to the 
pressing duties of his large parish, Dr. Chapin has been 
a constant lecturer before lyceums and literary associa- 
tions, and he it was who invented the well-known rate 
of compensation for lecturing, " Fame, — fifty dollars 
and my expenses." His lecture on Columbus is prob- 
ably his finest oratorical eifort of this kind, while his 
addresses on special occasions have been noted for their 
earnest and vigorous character. His stvle is not cold 
and severely logical, but magnetic, concentrated, and 
intense. He preaches a living faith, based on reason, 
and his discourses are infused with moral enthusiasm. 
His lectures are ornate and rhetorical, yet very practi- 
cal, and never merely written for effect. As a scholar 
Dr. Chapin ranks high, and his library is one of the 
finest private collections in New York, containing 
many rare and valuable books. He has traveled much, 
and is an earnest and eloquent divine. 



"■-—-m 



32 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



At the dinner there was no formality of any kind ; 
speeches were dispensed with, and only general conver- 
sation took place. The distinguished guests talked freely 
on all sorts of topics, and enjoyed themselves greatly. 
At intervals, and at the close of the repast, Mr. John- 
son, the host, read a number of letters from among the 
multitude which had been received, including those 
annexed from George W. Curtis, John G. Whittier, O. 
W. Holmes, Hon. Hamilton Fish, Hon. Gerrit Smith, 
President Mark Hopkins, Dr. Hickok, Professor Hitch- 
cock, of Amherst College, and some others, whose eulo- 
gistic expressions quite put Mr. Greeley to the blush. 
This terminated the preliminary part of the evening, 
after which the dinner party adjourned to the parlors, 
in the arrangement of which they found a great deal 
to admire. 

THE DECORATIONS. 

The floral decorations were supplied for the occasion 
by Messrs. Klunder & Long, florists, of No. 902 Broad- 
way, corner of Twentieth St., and were arranged with 
remarkable taste and artistic skill. There was nothing 
formal or stiff about the floral grouping, but the decora- 
tions were natural and simple, and made the large par- 
lors look like bowers, or as if the windows had been 
left open and the vines allowed to clamber in and 
spread Wherever they chose over the walls and pic- 
tures. Garlands of roses and smilax, pyramids, and 
baskets of flowers were to be seen on every side, yet not 
in such profusion as to give the impression of excess, 
though the display was certainly lavish. From the 
pier glasses at either end of the parlors long delicate 



THE GREELEY BIRTIIDAT RECErTIOX. 03 



tendrils liuug suspended and were reflected in the glass. 
The mantels "were very tastefully dressed with vines 
and rosebuds, which blended with the statuary in 
happy harmony. Around the portrait of Mr. Greeley 
was a border of natural flowers, which quite concealed 
the other frame of the picture, and was surmounted 
by a star inclosing the dates " 1811-72 " inscribed on 
either side with carnation pinks, worked on a bed of 
white primulas, while the sides of the base were fes- 
tooned with smilax and rosebuds, jasmine, orange blos- 
soms, and camelias. The portrait of Alice Gary, the 
long-time friend of Mr. Greeley and intimate friend 
of Mr. Johnson's family, which v\'as hung near to that 
of Mr. Greeley, was adorned in the same beautiful 
manner, and both attracted the attention and admira- 
tion of every visitor, w^ho were loud in their praise 
of the taste of the decorator. The latter, however, 
who is a warm admirer of Mr. Greeley, reserved his 
highest skill far the arrangement of a superb basket of 
flowers, which was presented by Mr. Klunder, as an in- 
dication of his personal esteem, to Mr. Greeley. This 
was composed of a mass of the rarest exotics, such as 
camelias, orchids, orange blossoms, lilies of the valley, 
violets, etc., the border being trimmed with the choic- 
est green-house leaves, while in the center of the 
basket was the letter " G," in old English, on a field of 
white pinks worked in violets, the whole forming a 
specimen of floral art seldom seen, and which was fitly 
appreciated and acknowledged by Mr. Greeley in the 
following letter : 



84 THE GllEELEY MIITIIDAY llECEPTIOX. 



323 West 57th St., Feb. Wi, 1872. 
Dear Sib : 1 thank you fox* the large and elegant bouquet pre- 
sented by you for the celebration of my birthday. Trusting that 
your own days may be many and happy, I am yours, 

IIORACE Greeley. 
Mr. Klunder, Florist, corner 20th St. and Broadway. 

At about nine o'clock tlie rest of the company began 
to arrive, and tlie spacious parlors were soon crowded 
Willi guests. It would be difficult to give a clear idea 
of the appearance of the rooms during the remainder 
of the evening. Carriage after carriage rolled up to 
the door and deposited their occupants, who streamed 
into tlie house in an unceasing throng. The dressing- 
rooms were soon choked, the hallway jammed, yet still 
they continued to come. The colored waiter whose 
duty it was to stand at the entrance of the parlors and 
announce the name of each guest on entering to Mr. 
and Mrs. Johnson, soon became confused and gave up 
his task in despair. 

Mr. Greeley at first sat near the center of the room, 
and was regularly introduced to each new-comer in 
turn by the host and hostess ; but soon he had to yield 
to the pressure of the crowd, and moved about witliout 
formality, greeting his friends cordially, and talking 
and laughing freely with those around him. He com- 
pletely forgot himself under the excitement of the oc- 
casion, and was as buoyant and unrestrained as a child. 
The company was hardly less pleased than himself, 
and everybody seemed in high spirits. The hum of 
voices was loud and lively, and a more truly social 
gathering never was seen in the metropolis. 



THE GllEELEY BIllTIIDAY 31ECEPTI0X. ^O 

Conversatiou occupied most of the evening, and so 
many mutual acquaintances found themselves together 
in the crowd that there was no lack of topics for talk. 
Politics, journalism, science, art, music, hooks, and a 
dozen other themes were the subject of active discus- 
sion, and every one present seemed to have an abund- 
ance to say and listen to. 

Three musicians performed fme selections on the 
violin, piano, and cornet, at^iutervals, while Miss Emma 
Abbott and Miss JMargaret Cleveland favored the com- 
pany with several exquisite songs. Miss Abbott, in 
particular, quite delighted Mr. Greeley by singing two 
or three Scotch airs. When she sang "Auld Lang 
Syne," and at the line, 

"Here's a han' my trusty frien'," 
the youthful singer extended her neatly-gloved hand to 
him, Mr. Greeley was completely carried away, and 
seized and shook it with ill-concealed emotion. 

Later in the evening dancing was introduced, and 
several of the younger members of the company took 
l)art in it. 

It is a difficult task to give any description of the 
company present, and if the attempt partakes of tlie 
character of a catalogue, it must be pardoned. Unfor- 
tunately none of Mr. Greeley's own family were pres- 
ent, his wife and two young daughters being absent 
from the country, and visiting at the Isle of Wight, in 
order to recruit Mrs. Greeley's health. Tlieir absence 
was noticed by all, and was the only thing to be re- 
gretted through the evening. Mrs. Cleveland, sister of 
Mr. Greeley, with Mr. Cleveland and their two accom- 



3G THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

plislied daughters, and Miss Busli, also a niece of Mr. 
Greeley, were the nearest of his kin present. The rest 
of the company comprised persons of every profession or 
occupation, and belonging to every section in the coun- 
try. There were New Englanders, Knickerbockers, 
Westerners and Southerners, with representatives of 
Germany and England; editors and professors, grave 
judges and learned lawyers, critics and women writers, 
men of science and merchants. Abolitionists and Dem- 
ocrats dyed in the wool, soldiers and orators, poets and 
humorists, divines and doctors, not to mention others. 
I shall attempt to sketch briefly some of the most prom- 
inent of those present, though to describe them ade- 
quately would require a small biographical dictionaiy. 
As was to be expected from Mr, Greeley's high posi- 
tion in the Republican Party, there was a strong politi- 
cal element in the company, and many leading politi- 
cians were present. Notable among them was E. D. 
Morgan, formerly United States Senator and Governor 
of the Empire State, one of the wealthiest and most 
honored citizens of the metropolis. Marshall O. Roberts 
and Elliott C. Cowdin appeared on behalf of the Union 
League Club, while Judge Edwards Pierrepont and 
Judge Fithian represented the Republican Judiciary. 
Sinclair Touscy, General (now Register) Franz Sigel, 
General Palmer, Hon. Thomas Acton, ex-Police Com- 
missioner; General Merritt, ex-Naval Officer; Col. A. J. 
II. Duganne, and General P. H. Jones, were also among 
those present, so that the political element formed a 
large proportion of the company. General McDowell 
was to have appeared for the army, but was prevented 



THE GllEEIiEY UIIiTIIDAY IlECEPTION. S7 

by an unforeseen circumstance from doing so, so that 
General Sigel filled that position. The best society in 
the metropolis was represented, as well as the most bril- 
liant and talented members of the several jorincipal 
j)rofessioDS. 

President Barnard, of Columbia College, whose ven- 
erable appearance made him especially notable in the 
crowd, appeared on behalf of the scientific world, in 
company with Professors Guyot and E. L. Youmans ; 
Dr. Clhapin, Prof R. D. Hitclicock, Eev. O. B. Froth- 
ingham, and Bev. Mr. Sweetser Avell represented the 
pulpit ; Anna Dickinson appeared for the platform ; 
Frank B. Carpenter for the palette; Mr. William Cres- 
wick for the stage, while many of the most eminent 
journalists in the land were among the company. Fic- 
tion was seen in the persons of Mrs, Ann S. Stephens, 
Mrs. 3Iary E. Dodge, and Prof Edward II. Eggleston ; 
poetry found an exponent in B. II. Stoddard, Bret 
Ilarte, and John Hay ; music, in the persons of Miss 
Abbott and Miss Pauline Cleveland. George Bipley 
was a fit symbol of scholarly criticism, while wit could 
not have been better represented than by the three 
most popular of American humorists. 

The Tribune, as was proper at the birthday of its 
founder, was well represented by members of the staff, 
including, besides Mr. Bipley and Oliver Johnson, 
"Whitelaw Beid, Samuel Sinclair, Mrs. Calhoun Bunkle, 
Colonel John Ilay, Mr. Booker, Mr. Noah Brooks, !Miss 
Kellie Hutchinson, Mr. Keenan, ]\Ir. Pierce, and others. 

WiiiTELAW Beid, who has been the managing editor 
of the Tribune for the past three years, is Mr. Greeley's 

2 



* ••MMiUiiliUlniimttl 
iiiiiuiuimiuuinfttiif 






THE GKEELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



riglit-liand man, and lias full executive cliarge of the 
paper. He is a native of Ohio, and has the stature and 
large frame common to that part of the West. After a 
varied experience in X)rovincial and Cincinnati journal- 
ism, he became a war correspondent, and made a great 
reputation by his letters from the field, and afterward 
from "Washington, under the signature of *' Agate." 
Called to ISTew York at the earnest solicitation of Mr. 
Greeley, he filled the position of leading editorial writer 
for some time, and then succeeded John Russell Young 
as managing editor. This position he has filled with 
great ability, adding not a little to the efficiency of the 
paper, gaining the esteem of all his associates and sub- 
ordinates, and acquiring for himself much credit for his 
talent, both as a writer and as an editor. His judg- 
ment is cool, his intuitions quick, and his experience 
and knowledge large, while he has very warm sympa- 
thies, and is always cordial and kind in his treatment 
of every one. 

Mr. Samuel Sinclair, as publisher of the Tnbnne^ for 
the past thirty-tv.^0 years, has managed its finances with 
prudence and judgment. Any one who has had any 
experience in journalism knows how difiicult a task 
it is to publish a great newspaper, and more papers 
have failed through lack of business faculty than for 
want of good editing. Mr. Sinclair has neglected no 
means to extend the circulation of the Tribune, and 
the fact that it has obtained such a multitude of sub- 
scribers is due not a little to his business sagacity and 
enterprise. 

Mr. Rocker, sui:)erintendent of the printing depart- 



ment, is one of the patriarchs of the Tribune, and ho 
has contributed not a little to its success. To him is 
due its typographical excellence and general neat ap- 
pearance. He is an original stockholder, and is a firm 
believer in the greatness and power of the paper. 

Mrs. Lucia Calhoun Runkue is known throughout 
the United States as a sparkling and epigrammatic 
contributor to the Tribune during the past five or six 
years. Her " Letters from Next Door" Avere among 
the most remarkable correspondence which has ap- 
peared in the columns of that journal, and showed the 
same lively fancy, polished diction, and nnfiiiling ani- 
mation which have distinguished her other "writings. 
She was the center of an attentive group during the 
evening, who listened to her lively conversation with 
great interest, and the part of the room where she 
stood w^as notable for the merriment which proceeded 
therefrom. 

Mrs. Runklc is- one of the established contributors to 
the Tribune, -v^liilc, by her side was one of the junior but 
most promising members of the staff of that journal. 
This w^as Miss Nellie Hutchinson, who, during the past 
three years, has reported most of the Women's Rights 
Conventions, in a very happy style, for the Tribune, and 
has raised quite high expectations by her fresh fancy 
and lively style of writing. 

Colonel John Hay the author of " Jim Bludso " and 
"Little Breeches," has well sustained the reputation 
gained by these poems by his sterling work as an edito- 
rial writer on the Tribune. He is a writer of unusual 
strength and knowledge, and some of the best articles 



niiiUHliaMffiJPiKi.- 



40 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



which have appeared in the Tribune since his connec- 
tion with it have been from his pen. Few men have a 
more charming personal presence, and his warm, frank, 
and hearty manners are pecuharly engaging. 

Among others of the yonnger members of the Trih- 
tine staff present w^as Mr. Keenan, a gentleman of much 
brightness and jiromise, who has already made his mark 
in journalism. 

mSS EMMA A. ABBOTT, THE GREAT VOCALIST. 

The following appreciative notice of Miss Abbott in 
taken from Watson's Art Journal, and well describes 
the historv of that charming sinj^er: 

" Miss Emma Abbott has been brought prominently 
before the public lately in connection with the choir of 
Dr. Chapin's church, of which she is the soprano. Her 
career has been strangely eventful. It fell to her lot to 
be compelled to support her family at a very early age, 
with narrow means ; but wdth a beautiful voice and a 
brave heart she launched at once into practical life, and 
battled for existence nobly. Entirely self-taught, but 
vrith a natural instinct for singing, she succeeded in 
forming engagements with some concert companies 
traveling through the West. Her pay w^as not large, 
but it enabled her to take care of those at home, and 
taught her how to win the favor of the great public. 
Sometimes these concert companies would foil, and 
then she w^ould go from village to village, and, with a 
vdll no refusal could daunt, call upon the clergymen, 
tell her story, and prevail upon them to let her give a 
concert alone, in the pulpits of the churches. Such 
wonderful self-reliance in one so young and unpro- 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 41 

tected rarely failed to touch all that was chivalrous in 
the heart of man, and she was passed from place to 
place, always making a little store to gladden the hearts 
of those entirely dependent on her tireless exertions. 
The turning point of her life was her meeting with 
Miss Kellogg. To her she told her story, sang to her, 
and so interested her that she assisted her to come to 
New York and commence the study of singing. It may 
be well imagined, from her former life, that she could 
not rest without work. Study was one thing, but 
money was needed for home; and she sought every 
opportunity to secure engagements and a church posi- 
tion. Good fortune speedily crowned her exertions, 
and she won the position of soprano at Dr. Chapin's 
church. In a short time she became the pet of that 
wealthy congregation, and she counts warm and influ- 
ential friends by the hundred." 

Miss Mary L. Booth, the editor of Harpefs Bazar, 
is well knowa, both as an editor, a translator, and a 
general writer, in all three of which vocations she has 
gained for herself much reputation, as well as a high 
position for general scholarship. She is a lady of fine 
culture and wide reading, and has few equals among 
literary women for either knowledge or practical ability. 
She was accompanied by Mrs. Wright, a lady of many 
admirable qualities of heart and mind, who has a wide 
circle of friends in the best society of the metropolis. 

Mrs. Croly (Jennie June) has made a unique repu- 
tation by her talents as a writer on fashion, and in thi^ 
capacity has a national fame. She is the editor of 
Dcmoresfs MontJdy, and is also a voluminous writer on 



42 



Tim GliEELEY EIIITIIDAY llECEPTIOX. 



miscellaneous subjects. She lias unusual ability, both 
as an editor and a writer, and lias contributed not a 
little to the periodical literature of the day. 

Mrs. Lauha Cuiitis Bullard is one of the most 
brilliant of our many f^ifted \vomen writers, and her 
letters from the West and from Europe have attracted 
much attention for their fresh and piquant style. Since 
resigning the editorship of the Rewlution, she has taken 
an extensive tour abroad, and is now livinrj in ITow 
York, where she dispenses a liberal hospitality to the 
most cultivated social circles of the metropolis. She is 
a brilliant conversationalist, and has the happy faculty 
of making every one at home in her compan}-. 

Mrs. Henry ]M. Field, the wife of the editor of the 
Evangelist^ is a native of France, and is a type of the 
true woman of society, few specimens of whom are to 
be found outside of the French capital. Her warm 
and generous sympathies fit her peculiarly for the posi- 
tion of hostess, while her shrewd common sense and 
mother wit, added to her high cultivation and wide 
experience, make her an admirable leader of society. 
As such she has long taken a prominent position in 
New York, and her receptions are attended by the most 
intellectual people of the metropolis. 

The three popular American humorists, Brett Ilartc, 
Mark Twain, and Colonel John Hay (" Little Breeches"), 
v.erc all among the guests of the evening, and formed 
a trinity of wit such as has rarely been found under 
one roof. 

Brett Harte is a small, slender, quiet-looking per- 
son, with refined features and gentlemanly bearing. 



TIIK GKEELEY BIllTiroAY RECEPTION. 4-] 



Colonel Hay is also of moderate stature^ but lian a 
somewhat more vigorous physique, wliile his voice is 
notable for its rich melody. He is very frank and 
engaging in manner, and is a general favorite in so- 
ciety and among his professional associates. 

Mark Twain is tall and angular, with a shock of 
dark reddish hair, which seems to stand on end, and 
gives him a very singular appearance. His manner is 
pleasant, and his voice has a peculiar drawl, which iu 
conversation, as in his lectures, adds much to the effect 
of his humorous stories. 

The three humorists were all looked upon as lions 
of the occasion, and each at once became the briglit 
particular star of a group of admiring and attentive 
listeners. 

About ten o'clock the hall door suddenly opened, and 
a whole crowd of guests came in together, bringing 
with them a fresh gust of cold air from out doors. 
These consisted of a party that had come all the way 
from New England, either from Worcester, Springfield, 
or Hartford. They had had a jolly time on their trip 
down, and arrived just at the height of the entertain- 
ment. Among their number w^as Samuel Bowles, the 
vigilant and intrepidly independent editor of the 
Springfield Republican^ who was received by Mr. Gree- 
ley with a cordial "Why, how are you, Sam?" and 
replied with a no less hearty " How arc you, Horace ? " 
His tall form was conspicuous among tlie crowd, and 
he found numerous acquaintances on all sides. With 
him came ex-Governor Hawley, editor of the Hertford 
Courant a fine, sturdy, intelligent-looking man, with 



44 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

mustache and imperial a little like those of the Em- 
peror Napoleon. Mark Twain was also with the party, 
besides other journalists. 

MuRAT Halsted, editor of the Cincinnati Commer- 
cial^ and not inappropriately know^n as the Napoleon 
of the Western press, attracted much attention during 
the evening. He is a fine-looking man, with a power- 
ful physique, and a clear, restless eye, which took in 
every feature of the scene w^th rapid glance. 

David G. Croly", managing editor of the New York 
World, is a man of massive frame and vigorous vitality, 
with an air of repose and conscious strength which 
gives one a high opinion of his ability. He is a man of 
ideas, and is deeply interested in scientific and philo- 
sophical questions, which find full exposition in the 
columns of the World. In conversation he is full of 
suggestion, and overflows with ideas, which he ox- 
presses with much force and earnestness. 

Mr. Squier is best known by his extended researclies 
into the ancient ruins and history of Central America, 
about which he has written very largely and has pub- 
lislied several works. 

Rev. Edward H. Eggleston, editor of Hearth and 
Home, is one of the noblest-spirited of our writers, and 
has earned an enviable and wide reputation by his 
editorial performances on the Indei-)endent and other 
periodicals, while his " Hoosier Schoolmaster," and 
other stories, are among the most popular fictions of 
the day. 

Dr. Coak, the literary editor of the Independent, has 
gained a brilliant reputation by his essays on scientific 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 45 

subjects, and lie is one of our most versatile litterateurs, 
whose presence is much sought after in the best social 
circles of New York. 

Mr. J. H. Morse is also a gentleman of culture and 
refiuement, and one of the leading lights of the Fra- 
ternity Club. 

Mr. D. O'C. Townley is the art critic of the Evening 
3Tail, and in that capacity has made the Mail a favorite 
with both the artists and the reading public. His criti- 
cisms are both just and independent, and show great 
excellence of style and much acumen. He has a high 
reputation also as a humorist, gained by his poetical 
contributions under the 7iom de 2^lume of "Alderman 
Rooney." 

Among other persons present deserving of mention 
were Mr. James Gibbous, Ludlow Patton, Abby Hutch- 
inson, Mr. George Putnam, the publisher. Dr. Lewis, 
l;ie distinguished physician. Rev. Mr. Sweetser, Mrs. 
Bayard Taylor,- Richard H. Stoddard, editor of the 
Aldine Press, and one of the best of America's poets ; 
Colonel Church, of the Galaxy and Arnuj and Isamj 
Journal; Mr. John Elderkin, editor of the Bookseller'' s 
Guide; Mr. Amos G. Cummings, managing editor of 
tlie New Yorii Bun; William Creswick, the distin- 
guished English tragedian, who M'as the sole represent- 
ative of the drama ; Frank Leslie, proprietor of innu- 
merable illustrated papers; Mrs. Ann S. SteiDhens, the 
famous authoress, and her daughter; P. T. Barnum, the 
irrepressible showman, who is a warm friend of Mr. 
Greeley; Mr. Samuel R. Wells, of the Phrenological 
Journal, a gentleman of earnestness, wdio holds a posi- 



46 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



tion of wide usefulness; D. D. T. Moore, of Moore's 
Rural New Yorker, with Dr. J. Fuller Walker, a prom- 
ising young journalist, editor of that paper ; Dr. Fred- 
erick Holct)nibe ; the Hon. Henry Stockbridge and his 
accomplished -wife, of Baltimore, Md. 

The list of guests who were prevented from attending 
was large, and their presence would have added not a 
little to the occasion. Among their number, to cite 
only a few of the most notable, from whom letters of 
regret were received, were General Grant and Schuyler 
Colfax, President and Yice-President of the United 
States, and Speaker of the Senate ; ex-Governor Buck- 
ingham of Connecticut; Hon. Simeon Cameron, Presi- 
dent Koali Porter, Professors D. C. Gilman and Whit- 
ney of Yale ; Professor Yau Amridge, of Columbia Col- 
lege ; D. A. Goddard, editor of the Boston Advertiser; 
W. D. Howells, editor of the Atlantic Monthly ; President 
McCosh, of Princeton; President Smith, of Dartmouth; 
Professors Gibbs, Childs, and Pierce, of Cambridge; 
Miss Clara Louise Kellogg, the distinguished cantatrice; 
General Stewart L. Woodford, Hon. Chauncey Depew, 
Samuel Wilkinson, formerly of the Tribune, and now 
connected with Jay Cooke & Co.'s banking house; 
Charlton T. Lewis, editor of the Evening Post; General 
Palmer, Rev. Dr. Prime, of the Ohscrvcr ; Ivory B. 
Chamberlain, of the New York World; ]\Ir. Henry 
Bergh, President of the Society for the Prevention of 
Cruelty to Animals; E. L. Godkiu, editor of the Nation; 
Wendell Phillips Garrison, also of that journal; Hon. 
P. B. Roosevelt, M. C. ; J. R. G. Hassard, musical critic 
of the Tribune; Bayard Taylor, the world-renowned 



traveler ; Professor Henry, Smitlisonian Institute ; Rev. 
Dr. Shedd, Theodore and Elizabeth Tiltou,Mr. McEutee, 
the well-known artist ; Frank B. Sanborn, of the Spring- 
field Republican ; Principal Dawson, of McGill College, 
Montreal ; Dr. Abel Stevens, T. W. Higginson, the ac- 
complished essayist; P. Wilson, editor of the Albion; 
Joseph Howard, Jr., editor of the Star, and many 
others. 

The press all over the country contained detailed 
reports or references to the entertainment, while even 
those abroad had some account of it, — and notably the 
American Register, published at Paris, which had an 
elaborate description of the gathering. From some of 
these journals I have made a few selections, in order to 
show their general tenor, as follows. The first and 
longest account is from the pen of liev. Edward H. 
Eggleston, the "Leisurely Saunterer" of Hearth and 
Home, which is worth copying in full, owing to its 
genial and sympathetic style : 

II. G. 

Anywhere, February, 1872. 

There are certain letters and combinations of letters of the alpha- 
bet, if I remember rightljs which are used In algebra to signify 
unknown quantitie;j. II. G. is not of that sort. If there is any well- 
known quantity in the ever-changing quadratic equation of Ameri- 
can politics, that quantity is the one represented by H. G. Some 
men like H. G., some men hate II. G., but nobody ever yet sus- 
pected II. G. of being a negative quantity. All there is of him is 
plus, and it is all multiplied by itself— squared and cubed. There 
the figure breaks down. 

But people have very various ideas of what II. G. means. To 
the stanch old farmer, fed on the Tribune from childhood, the let- 
ters stand for a white-headed philosopher who pulls his own tur- 



L 



48 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

nips and milks his own cows, and who can tell more about farmini; 
than anybody else. To such a man H. G. is pre-eminently the 
symbol of subsoil plowing. To those who laugh at temperate 
habits, II. G. is Hominy and Gruel. With those who believe Nasfs 
caricatures correct, it is a white coat. To friends of the adminis- 
tration, H. G means Hard on Grant. To free-traders, Protection 
and Pig-iron begin with II. G. It would be hard to tell just what 
a Southerner thinks of H. G. ; between his Republicanism and his 
bailing of Davis he is, perhaps, half hero and half scallawag. In 
history, H. G. will stand for one of the ablest and one of the most 
American of Americans. You see I was set off into this vein by 
the reception in honor of the sixty-first birthday of II. G. It 
started me to thinking, in a kindly way, of course, of the sixty-one 
years of the II. G. who lias such a Hard Grip yet on American 
thought, and who has reached sixty-one years without relaxing it. 

It would not be fair, ordinarily, even for a Saunterer to put into 
ink-marks his impressions at a reception in a private house, but 
when H. G. stands for the Honored Guest of the evening, the 
reception can not be called private, particularly after all the re- 
porters have fired at it. And since, therefore, it has already been 
said that Professor Soandso and Rev. Dr. This-and-that were at 
the reception given by Mr. and INIrs. A. J. Johnson in honor of 
Horace Greeley, and since the pcnny-a-Iiners have told us that Mrs. 
What's-her-narae wore pink satin and looked very distinguee, and 
that Mrs. Been-abroad attracted much attention, and that Truthful 
James was seen talking with the Lily of Poverty Flat, and that Mr, 
Bludsoe and the Traveling Innocent shook hands cordially, not- 
withstanding the Traveling Innocent's parody of Mr. Bludsoe's 
poem— since the Jenkinses have told all these things, why shouldn't 
I say something, not about Mrs. Real-lace's dress, but about the 
Honored Guest and his honored guests ? 

There stood the great white-headed man, looking like a child. 
When one reads his martial columns in the Tribune, bristling wiih 
combativeness, deadly in their earnestness, one gets the idea that 
the veteran journalist must be always under arms, standing forever 
like a prize-fighter on guard. But in this great, surging, ffishion- 
able throng he stands with a simple, unsophisticated, child-like 
expression, greeting cordially those who have been opponents, and 



THE GREELEY BIKTHDAY RECEPTION. 



49 



unconsciously breaking through all the chains of conventionality, 
as a lion might through silken threads. If he sees a friend waiting 
to be ])reseuted, he rushes past all those whose office it is to pre- 
sent him and grasps him by the hand. Now it does this Leisun;ly 
Saunterer good— having often, himself, fallen into the condemna- 
tion of the elegant world for little forgetfulnesses of its despotic little 
requirements — it does this Saunterer good to sec a man the center 
of admiration, surrounded by the Brown-stones, and the Point- 
laces, and the Axminsters, and the Flyhighcrs, and the Skyscrapers 
—to see such a man the Honored Guest of Upper- tendom, and yet 
breaking through all the abominable little red-tapery of Upper- 
tendom without ever knowing or caring that he is breaking through 
laws much more weighty than the ten commandments ! For Mr. 
Greeley actually wore a coat— black, not white— a little out of date 
in style, and ventured to shake hands with his friends as thor.gh 
he were glad to see them, and was not afraid to show it ! And 
Mrs. Grundy did not dare say a word. But she will take her satis- 
faction on the first obscure offender she finds. 

New York hardly ever saw a more distinguished literary com- 
pany. There were old notables and young notables, men notables 
and women notables. Boston poets sent letters in praise of him 
who has hardly written one sentimental line in his life. Anna 
Dickinson stood in cordial conversation with the most vehement 
opponent of woman suflVage. Brett Harte and John Hay and Mark 
Twain made a humorous triangle round the philosopher, who 
rarely 'writes anything funnier than a defense of the duty on salt. 
Leading Democrats were wishing long life to the long-time leader 
of Republicans, orthodox ministers honoring a stubborn Uni- 
versalist. 

I am hardly a follower of Mr. Greeley. This Leisurely Saunterer 
differs with the great journalist on five points where he agrees with 
him on one. But I have an unstinted admiration for the persist- 
ency and sincerity with which he has advocated his principles. 
Mr. Greeley is the most representative man in America. The 
source of his ascendency is not in his opinions, but in his attach- 
ment to them. The Americans are all men of opinion. In Mr. 
Greeley the average American sees himself magnified. His most 
vehement opponent will confess that he likes " old Horace," as he 



mmm 



mmmmmm 



mmm 



IlictUluiitiiititlUihiiiUlbtllDkyt 



50 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

will familiarly call him, because he sticks to his belief. And this 
belief that he is in earnest is at the bottom of his wonderful influ- 
ence. The Leisurely Saunterer. 

The Syracuse Daily Standard, in connection witli its 
report of the celebration, had the following comments : 

Mr. Greeley was in the best humor, receiving the guests with 
affability and mingling in the festivities with evident enjoyment. 
The entertainment will long be remembered by those permitted to 
participate in it, and the regrets of those who were necessarily 
absent will long be keenly felt. 

The occasion will serve to bring into bold relief many of the inci- 
dents of a remarkable career, and many pens will be sharpened 
once more to analyze the character of the man who has had such a 
large influence upon the destinies of the country. Forty years a 
journalist, and for thirty occupying a position of great influence, 
Mr. Greeley's career has been marked by a patient industry, and 
illustrated by a wide information, freely communicated, rarely 
exhibited in our times. Always bold in his utterances, he has 
made many enemies. Utterly lacking in the cunning of the politi- 
cian, he has made many mistakes. With many crotchets, he has 
made many blunders. But he stands to-day the ablest editor in the 
land, towering, like Saul, above his brethren— our best type of the 
uncompromising, fearless, and self-sustained editor, if not the type 
of the sagacious and successful journalist. 

More than tliis, he has long been the acknoAvledged champion of 
the Republican Party— its ablest defender, if not its founder. Ag- 
gressive as bold, he poured the hot shot of irony, invective, ridi- 
cule, and argument upon the bastions of slavery, until they toppled 
and fell to the ground. He stood by the Union as the representa- 
tive of free principles— stood by it when its essence was uncompre- 
hended by the masses ; stood by it when traitorous hands sought 
to rend it asunder— stood by it when it assumed the proportions of 
its restored comeliness. With a consciousness of his errors as 
wide as the measure of his reputation, his splendid services are 
freely confessed by all classes in the republic — by enemies as well 
as by friends. To have been the foremost knight in the great battle 
for human rights is to have attained tlie highest measure of success 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



51 



under the republic. This is his success, iu comparison with which 
all offices are ignoble and worthless. 

Few, therefore, will cavil at the ovation which has been so kindly 
tendered him, the warm greetings he received at the hands of those 
who recognize his real greatness, even if they regret his eccentrici- 
ties. In this spirit a nation crowded the portals of the Johnson 
mansion. In this spirit he will be judged by an entire people when 
the measure of his years shall be filled, and he shall pass from the 
stage on which he has played so prominent a part. Mr. Greeley's 
place in history is assured even though he is earnestly, and some- 
times too swiftly, condemned by many of the critics of his day and 
generation. 

Harpers' Bazar contained the following brief but 
expressive notice from the pen of Miss Mary L. Booth: 

The reception given by Alvin J. Johnson, on the evening of Feb- 
ruary 3, to celebrate Horace Greeley's coming of age— the age of 
sixtj-^-one— was a unique affair, and was pronounced by good judges 
one of the most brilliant gatherings ever seen in New York. Seven 
hundred and fifty invitations were issued, bearing a finely engraved 
portrait and the characteristic autograph of the hero of the occa- 
sion ; and from the appearance of the rooms one would have judged 
that, notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather, all the guests 
came who were bidden to the feast. It would be easier to catalogue 
the notabilities within I'each who were not than those who were 
there. A small dinner-party of twenty-four preceded the evening 
entertainment. Dr. O. W. Holmes, George William Curtis, Secre- 
tary Fish, Mark Hopkins, John G. Whittier, and many others, sent 
regrets. The floral decorations were beautiful; an oil portrait of 
Mr. Greeley was wreathed with flowers, and the lovely face of Alice 
Cary looked down from Carpenter's portrait, garlanded with 
laurels, on a company to which she so fitly belonged, Mr. Greeley 
looked hale and hearty, and evidently enjoyed the congratulations 
of the distinguished circle, representing all shades of opinions, that 
united in paying honor to a veteran journalist and upright man. 

The Springfield Beimhlican said, in an editorial 
headed, " Horace Greeley, Aged 61 " — 



52 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

Mr. Greeley closed his sixty-first year Saturday, a more powerful 
representative of political opinion, and even more of a trial, if not a 
torture, to his political friends than ever before in his long public 
career. He is as hard as a sum in arithmetic for many of the simple 
partisan editors and machine politicians of the Republican party. 
These people were sure, a week ago, that his refusal to join in the 
call of the Republican National Convention meant treason to the 
party, and a settled purpose at any cost to bolt the anticipated 
nomination of General Grant. But now that he frankly declares 
that, regarding Protection as the great present issue in our politics, 
and foreseeing that the "bolters" or "Liberal Republicans" are 
likely to pledge themselves to free trade, he could not think of 
joining them under whatsoever personal provocation or temptation, 
they feel a sort of mild dismay and confusion in the pi-esence of his 
free thinking and independent acting nature, and hardly know 
what to make or say of him. Mr. Greeley, indeed, has his vagaries, 
his prejudices, and his inconsistencies, but the great strong current 
of his nature is in the line of common sense, independence, and 
fidelity to truth. It is rare that for any long time, or in an impor- 
tant crisis, the former have conquered the latter^ Few men of so 
positive individuality have so often or conspicuously suppressed 
themselves for the sake of public duty. 

No man living has done so much for independent journalism as 
Mr. Greeley; and yet no journalist in high position has so consi)ic- 
uously failed of answering to his own ideals, and meeting his owij 
opportunities in this regard, as he has done in the last few years. 
lie, perhaps, more than any other man, led the way ; but he has 
allowed others to outstrip him in it, and failed of following his own 
leadership, giving up to party, on many a conspicuous occasion, 
what was meant for mankind. But we hail the present evidences 
of his more thorough emancipation from party and complete uplift- 
ing into the realm of independence. What to others seems as trea- 
son, what to others appears a puzzle and represents a man of con- 
fusion and inconsistencies, stands to us a new and firmer eftbrt to 
lift himself and his great journal wholly out of the arena of purely 
personal and partisan politics, and place him and it, where they 
belong, in the front rank of independent journalism. This, we 
trust, is the new departure of his sixty-first birthday. This, we 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOIT. 



53 



trust, is the crown of his later years, his last best gift to his pro- 
fession and to his countrj'. 

Samuel Bowles, who was present, tliiis describecl Mr. 
Greeley's bearing in a letter to the Springfield Repub- 
lican : 

Mr. Greeley's enjoyment of the occasion and the presence of so 
many genuine friends shone out in an uncommonly beaming face. 
He forgot under such sunshine even his unrelenting enemies, and 
was as philosophical and humorous as he can be critical and fierce 
when shams come to the front and rogues grow bold. 

The good feeling of the occasion and the deep respect and even 
afl'ection felt for Mr. Greeley by all manner and condition of men 
and women was well interpreted by the letters received in reply to 
invitations from those who could not be present. May Mr. Greeley 
live till his enemies are all converted to such friends as these, and 
the whole world knows and appreciates him as one of the greatest 
men, deepest thinkers, and truest philanthropists and reformers of 
his generation. 

Mr. D. O'C. Townley, of the New York Evening Mail, 

wrote on the same topic : 

Mr. Greeley stood the shaking admirably, happy as a healthy 

baby. 

" "With Spring on his face of good nature. 

And Winter's snow white on his crown." 
A most delightful feature of the evening was the singing of Miss 
Emma Abbott, whose sweet voice and sweeter manner won all 
hearts. She sang thrice, each time contributing to the evening's 
pleasure in the sweetest way, and winning for herself the enthusi- 
astic applause of her critical audience. 

The aflair from beginning to end was of the happiest character, 
creditable to the good taste and nice feeling of Mr. Johnson, to the 
four hundred or more who gathered to do honor to the "good and 
great," and, we have no doubt, to the "good and great" himself a 
happy memory for evermore. 

A CATHOLIC TRIBUTE. 

The New York correspondent of the Cincinnati Cath- 



maswxm'Mm?:m^mw^- 



" '"SHffllfSittffl 



54 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



oUc Telegraphy writing to that paper under date of the 
7th inst, says of Mr. Greeley: 

On the 3cl inst. the- able editor of the New York Tribune com- 
pleted his sixty-first year. A reception was held at the residence 
of Alvin J. Johnson, Esq., which was largely attended by a great 
concourse of Mr. Greeley's fi-iends. 

There is not a man in these States who has a purer record as a 
journalist than Horace Greeley. Although the bulk of the Catholic 
citizens have ever opposed the party of which he was and is the 
great editor, he never wrote a line that he knew to be untrue 
against the Church ; never slandered any class of men nor any 
member of the Christian religion. That he has his notions of men 
and measures is true, and so have all other men of intelligence, and 
is entitled to have them ; but he never wounded where he was 
afraid to strike. 

To the friendless Irish litterateur and reporter he has often 
opened his purse, and his larger heart, when others, whom one 
would suppose would take them by the hand, would load them 
with gab and fill their ears with promises ! He has, to my per- 
sonal knowledge, done more for Catholics and men of Irish birth 
than any journalist in this city. I avail myself of the anniversary 
of his sixty-first bii'thday to assure him that, at least, there is one 
who does not forget what he has done for others, and to wish him a 
long life and many returns of the day when his true friends came 
in hundreds to grasp his hand and wish him— ac^ inuUos cmnos. 

The Newark, N. J., Journal spoke of the gathering as 

One of the largest and most remarkable companies of men and 
women of letters that has ever been held in New York, represent- 
ing nearly every profession, and including some of the most nota- 
ble men and women in the country. It was naturally composed 
mainly of Mr. Greeley's personal friends, but these comprise an 
extended circle, and all parts of the Union were represented in 
the assemblage. 

From an account in the Boston Herald we make an 
extract : 



"isr 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



55 



Nearly all who were invited responded in person, and the spa- 
cious and exquisitely decorated parlors of Mr. Johnson were soon 
densely packed with one of the most remarkable assemblages ever 
seen in New York. There was scarcely a social set, scarcely a 
political or a professional interest in the metropolis which was not 
represented. There were Yankees and Knickerbockers and Paris- 
ians, the jennesse d07'ie of the avenue, and the silver-haired vet- 
erans of reform, unreconstructed rebels, and the flower of the Union 
League loyalty. There was no one there who knew everybody else, 
but then all knew the guest of the eveiting, and all seemed glad to 
do him honor. It was long after the time appointed for the close 
of the reception before the last guests reluctantly retired with good 
wishes for that long life and unceasing prosperity and activity 
which his vigorous bearing seemed to promise to the great jour- 
nalist and citizen. 

The New York Standard said : 

In this country, although deprived of the class that takes the 
trouble to be born, we are yet compensated by the fact that some- 
times we have people bestowed on us that are worth being born, 
and when we are thus blessed we are delighted to assemble and 
express our gratitude and thankfulness. On Saturday evening a 
large number of people, who, in themselves, are something more 
than mere cumberers of the ground, accepted with pleasure the 
invitation of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, of Fifty-seventh Street, 
to celebrate the sixty-first birthday of Horace Greeley, as that of a 
man who fills a place several millions of people might rattle around 
in, to use Holmes' or some other man's facetiousness. 

The cards which called together these people were most hand- 
somely gotten up. Each bore a fine steel engraving of Mr. Greeley 
and a fac-simile of his famous autograph, and will doubtless serve 
long as a memento of so interesting an occasion. 

A lengthy notice in the Omaha Tribune conchided 
with this sentence : 

Altogether, the occasion is said to have been of the most inter- 
esting character, and was a fit acknowledgement of that place of 
power and influence and honor which Mr Greeley holds, not alone 

4 



56 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



in the regards of those few friends, but in the estimation of his 
countrj'men generally. 

The Western Meridan Republican lias the following 
comments on the reception : 

Every social, political, and professional interest in the metropolis 
seemed to be fully represented. All knew the guest of the even- 
ing, and seemed glad to do him honor. This reception will long 
be pleasantly remembered by all who had the good fortune to attend 
it. None seemed to enjoy it more that the great journalist himfeelf, 
who is eminently worthy of all the honors he has received. 

The Utica Observer, after describing the company 

present, ended by quoting from Mr. Curtis' letter, as 

follows : 

"Mr. Greeley's life has been passed in warm controversy of many 
kinds, and with many persons, but there was probably never so 
much difference Avith a man accompanied by so little personal ill- 
will toward him." We think this sentiment will find an echo 
everywhere. We shall continue to battle against the old man's 
pernicious opinions, but we wish him a long life, a peaceful death, 
and no statues. 

THE LETTERS. 

The letters' received in reply to the invitations sent 
were numerous and of a unique character. The variety 
of persons who w^ere expected to be present, represent- 
ing all grades and conditions of life, wdth the diversity 
of expression, from a formal acknowledgment to an 
elaborate eulogy, makes the collection of great interest, 
and it would almost supply material for a " Complete 
Letter-Writer." 

The number of kind and sjaiipathising expressions 
from persons who have been life-long opponents of Mr. 
Greeley's leading opinions was particularly noticeable. 
The Hon. James Brooks' letter may be referred to in 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 57 

this connection, as well as the letter of Professor Perry, 
of Williams College, author of the well-known "Politi- 
cal Economy." The compliments of Mr, Greeley's 
journalistic associates and rivals were also very kindly 
worded. George W. Curtis' letter, in particular, was 
notable for its tasteful and complimentary expression. 
The letters from those of the Tribune staff who wrote are 
all notable, especially Mrs. L. C. Moultou's brief epistle, 
which is in that lady's usual brilliant yet concise style. 
George W. Smalley's note and that of William Winter 
were both very feelingly expressed and written from 
the heart. The latter's tribute to the high qualities of 
Mr. Greeley's character and the great benefit of his ser- 
vices to humanity, could not easily be improved upon. 
But without extending this already lengthy sketch, I 
will conclude by presenting some selections from the 
several hundred letters which have been received by Mr. 
Greeley or Mr. Johnson in reply to the invitations sent : 

LETTER FROM MR. GREELEY TO MR. JOHNSON. 

New York, Aiwil Uli, 1872. 
My Dear Sir— Though my birthdays have been many, celebra- 
tion? of their annual recurrence have been few. The first that 
challenged public notice was my sixtieth, and occurred in Chardon, 
Geauga County, Ohio, Feb. 3d, 1871 ; not one of those who thus 
honored me being incited to do so otherwise than by persistent 
reading of the journals I have successively (I do not say success- 
fully) edited or written for during the last forty years. Possibly 
some of those who participated (the reporters would say "assist- 
ed ") on this occasion may have heard me speak at one time or 
another, but I am quite safe in asserting that no one was moved to 
attest his regard for me on that account. Yours was the first party 
ever given on my birthday that I Avas enabled to attend. And 
what a throng of tender and hallowed recollections it was calculated 



.TitUkiiiiouSJ 



58 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

to excite ! Though my own family was far beyond the Atlantic, 
that of one sister Avas present in full force' with the only daughter 
of another, and two daughters of my father's eldest sister, while of 
those who had known me in boyhood, when I began to learn my 
trade of printer, two were among the most welcome of the eAcr- 
changing crowd who wished me " many returns of the day." Of 
dignitaries and notables there Avas no lack, Avhile of men and 
women AA'ho haA'e already achieved distinction in letters there AA'erc 
many, and of those Avho bid fair to reach the higher rounds of that 
slippery ladder I noticed still more. To meet Brett Harte, John 
Hay, and Mark Twain under the same roof Avith Samuel Bowlec>, 
Murat Halstead, and Joseph R. HaAvley, should be reckoned an 
event in almost any one's life, even though he Avere not privileged 
then and there to greet likewise Anna Dickinson and Mary L. 
Booth. You are aware that such interruptions of the laborious 
tenor of my life haA'e been fcAA', and that these fcAV haA'e oftencr 
been constrained by illness than devoted to pleasure. Wherefore, 
my generous friend, allow me to thank you for this greenest oasis 
in my sterile pathway, and doubt not that I shall i-eniain 

Yours, gratefully, Horace Greelet. 

Mu. A. J. Johnson, 323 West Fifty-seventh Street, Ncav York. 

FROM HON. GEORG'E W. CURTIS. 

Washington, D. C, January 28ih, 1872. 

Dear Sir— I am very much obliged by your kind invitation to 
meet Mr. Greeley upon his sixty-first birthday, and I am very sorry 
that my engagements here Avill deprive me of that pleasure. Mr. 
Greeley's life has been passed in warm controA'ersy of many kinds, 
and Avith many persons, but there was probably never so much 
difterence Avith a man accompanied by so little personal ill-Avill 
toAvard him. The anniversary Avhich you celebrate is the fit time 
to recall his great services to liberty and civilization in America ; 
and the men and brethren who Avill heartily acknoAvledge them are 
the great multitude of his fellow-citizens. Although it may be his 
sixty-first birthday, Ave must not yet speak of his old age, for the 
man Avhom temperance and the cardinal virtues befriend Avill be a 
youth at three-score and ten. Very faithfully yours, 

A. J. Johnson, Esq. George William Curtis. 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY KECErTION. 59 

FROM JOHN G. WHITTIER, 

Makleoko' Hotel, Boston, 30th 1st 3ionth, 1872. 

Dear Friend— I am truly sorry that I can not be with, you on 
the interesting occasion your xiote refers to. I liave known Horace 
Greeley for more than thirty years. I have sometimes cliflcred 
with him on public questions, but have never clistrustcd him, or 
for a moment doubted his faithfulness to his convictions. That on 
the whole he has been one of our greatest benefactors I have no 
doubt. His Tribune has been a liberal educator. By example and 
precept he has taught lessons of temperance, self-reliance, industry, 
frugality, and charity. He has uniformly taken the part of the 
poor, the suffering, and enslaved. Wishing him many more years 
of honorable usefulness, and thanking you for thinking of me in 
connection with the proposed tribute of respect on the occasion of 
his birthday, I am very truly your friend, 

Mr. a. J. Johnson. John G. Whittieu. 

FROM O. AV. HOLMES, M.D. 

Dr. and Mrs. Holmes regret that it is not in their power to accept 
the polite invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson for Saturday evening. 
It would be a great pleasure to meet them and their honored guest 
on an occasion so. full of interest. Mr. Greeley has reached a 
"grand climacteric" of deserved reputation, if not quite up to that 
epoch in years. He has made himself felt in journalism as one of 
the great powers of the time, and added a manly element to the 
thought of the people among whom he has passed his life of varied 
activity. If he has ever erred it has been in pursuit of an ideal 
object which it is better to miss than not to aim at. His vigor and 
courage, joined to the thorough humanity of his nature, are so gen- 
erally recognized as worthy of all honor that if Mr. and Mrs. John- 
son should invite all the friends who would be glad to pay their 
respects to him it Avould have to be an open-air meeting, where the 
warm hearts of a great multitude would find themselves doing 
battle with the cold winds of February, as Mr. Greeley's enthusiasm 
has fought against the coldness and indiflerence of a world which 
he has helped to make warmer, truer, and better than he found it. 

Mr. a. J. Johnson. O. W. Holmes. 



60 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

FROM HON. HAMILTON FISH. 

Washington, February 2d, 1872. 
My Dear Mr. Greeley— Although unable to accept a kind in- 
vitation from Mr. and Mrs. Johnson to join them in celebrating 
your sixty-first birthday to-morrow in New York, I may be allowed 
to tender to you my sincere congratulations on the anniversary, 
and very coi'dially to wish you many returns of the day, and to 
hope your future years may be as happy as those of the past have 
been active and useful. Believe me, very faithfully yours, 

Hamilton Fish. 
Hon. Horace Greeley, New York. 

FROM PRESIDENT HOPKINS. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— Please accept the thanks of Mrs. 
Hopkins and myself for your invitation to be present at your house 
on the evening of Saturday, the 3d of February, to meet the Hon. 
Horace Greeley. Yon do well to honor Mr. Greeley. He has hon- 
ored in many ways the institutions under which alone he could 
have come to be what he is. We should join you most heartily if 
my duties did not require my presence here. 

Very respectfully yours, Mark Hopkins. 

Williams College, January 29th, 1872. 

FROM PRESIDENT GRANT. 

The President and Mrs. Grant regret that they will be unable to 
visit New York on the 3d prox., and, therefore, are unable to accept 
the polite invitation of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson for that evening. 

Executive Mansion, January 25th, 1872. U. S. Grant. 

FROM HON. GEORGE H. BOUTWELL. 

Mr. Boutwell presents his compliments to Mr. and Mrs. A. J. 
Johnson. His engagements will prevent his acceptance of their 
invitation for the 3d of February. Mr. Greeley's long and eminent 
service as a journalist, and his earnest support of the cause of the 
oppressed, entitle him to the honor proposed. 

January 29th, 1872. George H. Boutwell. 

FROM VICE-PRESIDENT COLFAX. 
Vice-President's Chamber, Washington, Jan. 29th, 187:2. 
Dear Sir— Your invitation to Mrs. Colfax and myself, inviting 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



Gl 



US to meet Mr. Greeley at j'our residence on his sixty -first birthdaj', 
Avas received last week, and both of us would accept it with \)\vixs- 
ure if public duties, which have a prior claim on my time, did not 
require my presence here. You are aware of course of the fact that 
whenever I am absent from the sessions of the Senate, the Cons^ti- 
tution devolves the duty upon that body of electing a President 
2)?'0 tempore., and not desirinj^ to subject senators to that annoj'ance 
too often, I but rarely go away as far as your city between the 
holiday recess and the adjournment. Regretting, therefore, that 
we can not accept your kind invitation, I am. 

Respectfully and truly yours, Schuyler Colfax. 

A. J. Johnson, Esq. 

FROM GENERAL AND MRS. JESSIE FREMONT. 

PocAHO, Feb. Uh, 18T2. 

Dear Mu. Gkeeley — We have just received the invitation to 
meet you Saturday evening, but as it was only posted tlae 3d, Ave 
did not know in time to make our good wishes to you in person. 
It is not too late, however, to unite in the congratulations on your 
good health, and our very sincere hopes that it may be prolonged, 
so as to give full enjoyment of your life when many things now ia 
their experimental and struggling phase shall have become fixed 
facts, so that you can look back over your past working ground a;i 
you must have done at the weary long plains when you couid con- 
trast past stage travel with the now luxurious railway travel. Wo 
were in town until Saturday evening, and should have remained 
over to yoxirfefe liad the invitation reached us. 

The General insists you will like best to have me spokesman 

(" man," including woman, according to Scriptural meaning), so 

this comes from both your very sincere friends, 

Jessie Benton Fremont, 

J. H. Fremont. 
Hon. Horace Greeley. 

FROM GEN. D. E. SICKLES, 
The Arlington, Washington, Feb. bt/i., 1ST3. 
Dear Madam — I desired and until the last moment supposed I 
should be able to attend the reception at your house in commemo- 
ration of Mr. Greeley's sixty-lirst birthday, and regret that Mrs. 



IHna 



62 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION, 

Sickles and I were unable to do so, having been unexpectedly de- 
tained here. I beg you Avill kindly congratulate Mr. Greeley in 
our behalf on his years and his honors, which he wears equally 
well. Although often diflering Avith him in regard to political 
questions, I cherish, in common with the great mass of Americans, 
the most profound respect for his character and services. 

With sincere thanks for your courtesy, I remain, dear madam, 
Very respectfully, D. E. Sickles. 

Mrs. a. J. JoHKSON, New York. 

'FROM IIOX. SIMON CAMERON. 

Mr. Cameron desires to assure you of his high esteem for your 
honored guest, and to wish Mr. Greeley every happiness and every 
reward which justly belongs to a useful life and a pure character. 
And his regret is not the mere conventional expressions of such 
occasions that he is prevented assisting in person in paying his 
respects to a good man who has done so much good. 

Mr. a. J. Johnson. Simon Cameron. 

FROM HON. EDWARD DICKENSON, OF AMHERST, MASS. 

A. J. Johnson, Esq. — It Avould give us great pleasure to accept, 
and, if consistent, to pay our respects to you and Mrs. J. and Mr. 
G., Avhom the country will hope to have many more years added 
to his A'aluable life, and his influence for good still more Avidely 
extended. Ebward Dickenson. 

FROM PRESIDENT NOAH PORTER. 
Yale College, New Haven, Conn., Jan. 3l5^, 1872. 

President and Mrs. Noah Porter present their compliments to 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, with thanks for their courteous invi- 
tation to meet Hon. Horace Greeley on the evening of the 3d of 
February. It will be impossible for either to accept the invitation. 
Mr. Porter is glad of the opportunity to express his high apprecia- 
tion of the services which Mr. Greeley has rendered to his country 
and his kind. Though he has not accepted all Mr. Greeley's opin- 
ions, he has ever honoi-ed him for his integrity, benevolence, and 
prominently for the example which he has given of " plain and 
high " thinking. In great haste, most respect full j', 

A. J. Johnson, Esq. N. Porter. 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOK. 63 

FROM PROF. A. L. PERRY, OF WILLIAMS COLLEGE. 

Williams College, Feb. 2d, 1872. 
Mr, and Mrs. Johnson— I beg you will present to Mr. Greeley 
my most respectful and hearty salutations on the occasion of his 
sixty -first birthday. Scarcely anything could give me greater 
pleasure than to pay my personal respects to him on that occasion. 
The recurring nature of my college duties alone prevents my taking 
that pleasure. I have found reason to differ widely from Mr. Gree- 
ley on questions of political economy, but I have never wavered 
for a moment from my early conviction that he is a very honest 
and a very able man. Yours, very truly, Akthur L. Perkv. 

FROM PROF. ^Y. S. TYLER, D.D. 

Amherst College, Feb. 1st, 1S72. 

It would give Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Tyler great pleasure to accept 
the polite invitation of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, and meet at 
their house the Hon. Horace Greeley on the occasion of his sixty- 
first birthday. The Ti'ibune is read in our family daily. The 
greater part of our relatives and friends read it and reverence it, 
some of them, we fear, more than they do the best of books. Wo 
should delight to spend an evening in the company of its editor, 
the prince of all American journalists; but other engagements 
render this impossible. Long may the modern Doctor Franklin — 
a doctor in the best sense before our college conferred on him the 
degree of Doctor of Laws— long may he live to teach by precept 
and by example the virtues of economy, temperance, and simplicity 
in private and public life, to be a terror to evil-doers and a scourge 
of corrupt and designing men, and to excite through the press a 
political and moral power transcending that of the highest office in 
the State or nation. 

With sincere thanks for the invitation, I am, with great respect. 
Yours, very truly, W. S. Tyler. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J*. Johnson, New York. 

FROM PROF. J, H. SEELYE, D.D. 

Amherst College, Feb. Wi, 18T2. 
My Dear Sir— I avail myself of the first opportunity since my 
return to congratulate yourself and Mrs. Johnson upon the grand 



64 THE GKEELEY BIRTHDAY IlECEPTIOX. 

success of your entertainment last Saturday ui^ht. It was a nota- 
ble and brilliant occasion, and must have furnished extreme satis- 
faction to all your guests. I shall long remember it with delight. 

Very truly yours, J. H. Seelve. 

Mr. a. J. Johnson, New York. 

FROM REV. TYLER F. BLACKWELL. 

Brooklyn, Jan. 31s/!, 1872. 
Dear Madam and Sir— I shall endeavor to be present, and thus 
testify to my love and reverence for Mr. Greeley, and gratitude 
that he is still Avith us in good health of body and mind. 

I am, with respect, Tyler F. Blackavell. 

To Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson. 

FROM PROF. L. P. IIICKOK, D.D., LLD. 

Amherst, Mass., Jan. 27th, 1872. 

Mr. a. J. Johnson — Dea?' Si)': I honor and respect Mr. Greeley. 
I admire his hostility to fi-aud and hatred of a lie, and fidelity and 
persistency in resisting and exposing corruption, profligacy, and 
vice in high and low station, his fair dealings with his opponents, 
his love of country and humanity, his kindness, sincerity, and 
industry, and believe the world is much less openly Avickcd for his 
living in it and working in it. I should be glad to express more 
than this by personally meeting Mr. Greeley at your house, as 
invited, on his "sixty-first birthday," but shall be prevented by 
unavoidable hindrances. 

Mrs. II. joins in grateful acknowledgment of the polite and very 
kind invitation given us by yourself and Mrs. J., and Ave ask per- 
mission to assure you both of our veiy cordial Avishes for your 
abundant happiness. Yours, sincerely, 

L. P. IIlCKOK. 

FROM REV. RAY PALMER, D.D. 

G9 Bible House, Neav York, Jan. 31si, 1872. 
A. J. Johnson, Esq. — My Bear Si?': Instead of sending merely 
formal "regrets" that I can not accept the polite invitation to 
meet Mr. ]^orace Greeley at your house, permit me to express my- 
self a little more fully. I live out of the city— at NcAvark— and 
have to officiate in one of the churches there on Sabbath morning. 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



65 



which will make it inconvenient to come in on Saturday evening, 
I beg leave, however, through you to scud my warm congratula- 
tions to Mr. Greeley on this his sixty-first birthday. Not always 
agreeing with him, I still read daily with attention and interest 
what he writes. Few men connected with the press have so well 
merited the respect of his countrymen. His great ability and high 
moral purpose have made the Tribune a great power for good, and 
secured for him widely the confidence of Christian people. May 
many more years of health and active power be added to his cal- 
ender, and each, to the end, be brighter and happier than the last. 
With acknowledgments to yourself and Mrs. Johnson, I am. 

Very truly yours, Eay Palmef. 

FROM REV. H. C. FISH, D.D. 

Newark, N. J., Jan. mt/i, 1872. 
To A. J. Johnson, Esq.— Dear Si?': It is a real self-denial to 
me not to be able to enjoy Saturday evening with you and Mrs. 
Johnson, and the honorable man whose birthday you socially cele- 
brate. Although my engagements are such as to prevent me this 
pleasure, I beg you to accept my thanks for the invitation with 
which you have honored me. 

We have only one Horace Greeley ; and it will be a long time 
before we have another. It is pretty certain that he will " leave his 
footprints on the sands of time," and his life will be an inspiration 
to all who come after him. 
With sentiments of respect and esteem, I am, yours truly, 

H. C. Fish. 

FROM REV. W. T. CLARKE. 

New York, Feb. 1st, 18T2. 
A. J. Johnson, 'Esq.—Deai'Sir: Professional engagements ren- 
der it Impossible for me to accept your polite Invitation to the 
reception you have arranged in honor of Mr. Greeley. He has done 
more than any other man in America to lift journalism from a 
mere trade to an honorable and influential profession. The Amer- 
ican newspaper of to-day is very largely Mr. Greeley's invention, 
and the newspaper is the American circulating library, if not the 
American's Bible. And it is meet that younger journalists should 
pay a hearty tribute of respect to their great teacher and model. 



66 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

It would be pleasant to me to write of Mr. Greeley as a practical 
reformer; a philanthropist who has not sacrificecl his common- 
sense to his charitj'; a clear-headed, sagacious politician, who has 
tried to apply the highest principles to the lowest and humblest 
aflairs ; a statesman Avho has subordinated party to country, and 
done his utmost to identify the interests of the nation with those 
of mankind and justice; and, finally, as an author whose works 
are among our best examples of strong sense, large information, 
and practical wisdom. But his best contribution to the country is 
himself. We are indebted to him, more than for anything else, 
for Horace Greeley. To be such a man as he is, standing upon the 
pedestal of such a life as his has been, is better than to be Presi- 
dent. May he long be spared to give the country the benefit of 
his large knowledge and his ripe experience, which, was never 
more seriously needed than to-day. 

Very sincerely yours, W. T. Cijvrke. 

FROM PROF. S. F. B. MORSE, LL.D. 

5 West Twenty-second St., Feb. \st, 1872. 

Did my health permit, it would give me the greatest pleasure to 
be present at the reception to be given to that eminent citizen, the 
Hon. Horace Greeley, on the occasion of his sixty-first birthday ; 
but under the ordei'S of my physician I am forbidden to leave the 
house in the evening. 

Mrs. Morse joins me in kind wishes for many returns of the 
interesting anniversary. With sincere respect, 

Your obedient servant, Sam. F. B. Morse. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, 323 West Fifty-seventh Street. 

FROM IIOX. GERRIT SMITH. 

Paterson, Feb. Isf, 1872. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson — Mrs. Smitli and I are truly grate- 
ful for your invitation to meet our excellent and honored friend, 
Horace Greeley, at your house the evening of his sixty-first birth- 
day. This welcome invitation we should not fiiil to accept were 
we as young as he still is ; but we arc old and infirm, and shrink 
from a winter's journey. 

Please assure Mr. Greeley of our alTectiouate interest in him, and 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. G7 

of our hope that he will be spared yet many years, in which to 
continue his work of enlightening his fellow-men. 

Kespectfully yours, Gerkit Smith. 

FROM PROF. EDWARD HITCHCOCK. 

Amherst College, Jan. 21ih, 1872. 

Mr. Johnson— Dear Sir : I want to thank you from my heart 
for your very polite invitation to what will be, in the American 
way of doing things, a royal entertainment next Saturday evening. 
It is a most fitting expression of esteem for the man whom all 
delight to honor, and to whom Amherst College awarded the high- 
est honor in her power. 

But my college duties and domestic necessities must debar me 
from being present at such an interesting and honored assembly. 
With great respect, Edward Hitchcock. 

FROM MARK TWAIN. 

Hartford, Conn., Feb. M, 1872. 
Mr. a. J. Johnson — Dear Sir : Domestic duties deny my wife 
the pleasure of coming, but I shall be glad to do what in me lies to 
worthily represent the family. Mark Twain. 

FROM MISS KATE FIELD. 

London, Feb. IMh, 1872. 
Miss Kate Field presents her compliments to Mr. and Mrs. John- 
son, and regrets that temporary exile from America has prevented 
her from doing honor to one who has done so much honor to the 
great profession of journalism. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, New York. 

FROM MR. WILLIAM WINTER. 

Staten Island, Feb. 2d, 1872. 
Dear Mr. Greeley — Allow me to offer my congratulations on 
the happy occasion that comes to-morrow. Mrs. Winter and I 
liave been invited by Mr. and Mrs. Johnson to their festival in 
honor of your sixty-first birthday ; but as Mrs. Winter is in deli- 
cate health, and our home is on this island (which has led to my 
living like a dramatic Arab all this season), we are obliged to forego 
this pleasure. For my own part, I am very shy of receptions and 



68 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



ceremonies, but we do not feel like letting the happy time pass 
without expressing our deep respect for you, and wishing very 
many happy returns of your birthday. No man has lived in this 
country whose birthday is better worth commemorating, or whose 
fame is more nobly established than yours is on wise and benefi- 
cent labor for the good of the human race. 

Very sincerely yours, William Winter. 

FROM SOLON ROBINSON. 

Jacksonville, Fla., Jan. 2Wi, 1872. 
Me. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson: 

I thank you, friends, for this your kind invite 
To visit you on H. G.'s birthday night. 
Grateful, indeed, to meet j'ou all should I 
Most surely be, and would if I could fly ; 
For only on the swiftest wings through air 
Could I afford to make the journey there, 
Leaving behind the land where blooms the rose, 
To traverse yours amid the winter snows. 
For I must bear in mind that through life's (jate. 
The while our mutual friend counts sixty-one, 
That I've already counted sixty eight, 
And see my busy life is nearly done. 
At least I feel I've passed my manhood's prime. 
And soon, no doubt' must pass the verge of time. 
And therefore should rejoice on this near shoz-e 
Before I cross to meet my friends once more. 
Though in the flesh with you I can not be, 
Yet in the spirit will ; I pray you sec 
By this my love to you and Horace G. 

Solon Robinson. 

FROM MRS. LOUISE CHANDLER MOULTON. 
Mr. a. J, Johnson — Dear Sir: Please accept my thanks for 
your invitation to join the fortunate company Avho are to assemble 
under your hospitable roof on the 3d of February to do honor to 
our friend Mr. Horace Greeley. I am prevented Irom coming bj-- 
ciixumstanccs as inexorable as beset the wedding guests in the 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 09 

Scripture ; but I never refused an invitation with so much regret. 
In my admiration for Mr. Greeley's talents, for his courage, for his 
life-long and honorable public career, I yield to no one ; and this 
admiration is enhanced by the warmer coloring of personal friend- 
ship. I shall breathe my good wishes on the east winds of Boston, 
and drink our friend's health, loyall}', in the spring-water which 
lie approves. May his coming birthdays be as many as I am sure 
you and j'our guests will make this one pleasant. 

With most cordial congratulations and good wishes to Mr. Gree- 
ley, I am, dear sir, yours, very sincerely, 

Louise Chandler Moulton, 

Jan. SOth, 1872. 28 Eutland Square, Boston. 

FROM EDNA DEAN PROCTOR. 

Brooklyn, Feb. 5ih, 18T2. 

Dear Mr. Greeley — I have just read in the Tribune the account 
of your delightful birthday evening. It was very kind in you and 
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson to remember me with an invitation. I fully 
expected to go, but the storm and the distance prevented, to my 
great regret. 

I congratulate you and all who were present ; yet no private 

company, though the rarest, could duly honor your birthday ; only 

a national thanksgiving could fitly celebrate it, and I believe some 

future year, with noble appreciation, will keep it thus. Hoping 

that many succeeding birthdays will find you young and strong as 

now, I am, with all best wishes, cordially yours, 

Edna Dean Proctor. 
Hon. Horace Greeley. 

FROM MR. GEORGE W. SMALLEY. 

Oscorne House, W. London, Feb. 20t/i, 1872. 
Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Smalley very greatly regret tliat they could 
not have the pleasure to accept Mr. and Mrs. A. J.' Johnson's invi- 
tation to meet Mr. Greeley on his sixty-first birthday. They beg 
to send, although the day is past, their most sincere congratula- 
tions to Mr. Greeley on the occurrence of such an anniversary, and 
the honors and troops of friends that help to make it memorable to 
him, and their hopes that on some future birthday celebration they 
may bo able to off"er in person their best wishes and their assur- 



70 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

ances of respect and gratitude for Mr. Greeley's life-long and splen- 
did services to some of the noblest causes in the world 
Mr. a. J. Johnson. George W. Smalley. 

FROM PROF. A. J. SCHEM. 

New York, Feb. Sd, 1872. 

Dear Mr. Johnson— I beg to acknowledge the note by which 
you and Mrs. Johnson invite me and Mrs. Schem to meet at your 
house the Hon, Horace Greeley on the occasion of his birthday, I 
very much regret that it is not possible for ns to avail ourselves 
of your kind invitation. Will you, therefore, be good enough to 
be with Mr. Greeley the interpreter of the feelings of the highest 
esteem which Mrs. Schem and I entertain toward him, and to pre- 
sent to him our most cordial congratulation. May his honest and 
vigorous pen continue for many more years to tell his countrymen 
what he knows about political life, the wants of our society, and 
their remedies. 

Mrs. Schem joins me in praying you to give our kindest regards 
to Mrs. Johnson. Yours, very truly, A. J. Schem. 

FROM D. A. GODDARD, EDITOR BOSTON "ADVERTISER." 

Boston, Jan. 28t/i, 1872, 
Mr, and Mrs. D. A. Goddard 'regret that they must decline the 
invitation of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson for Saturday evening, 
Feb. .3d, and they hope that for a quarter of a century to come Mr. 
Greeley will have hearty and happy birthdays, and hosts of friends 
to celebrate them with him. D, A, Goddard. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J, Jchnson, New York. 

FROM EX-GOV. BROSS, OF THE CHICAGO " TRIBUNE." 

Chicago, Jan. 31st, 1872. 
A. J, JoHNso^r, Esq., and "LKnY—My Dear Sir and 3Iadam : I 
have the honor to acknowledge for myself and Mrs. Bross the 
receipt of your very kind invitation to meet Hon, Horace Greeley 
on the occasion of his sixty-first birthday, on the evening of Feb- 
ruary 3d. For this opportunity to express personally to Mr. Gree- 
ley our jirofound admiration for his character as a man, and our 
congratulations at his unequaled success as a journalist, I beg most 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. <1 

heartily to thank you. I regret exceedingly that distance and 
pressing duties will deprive us of that pleasure. His great abili- 
ties and, what is even more important, his unbending integrity, 
have secured for him the acknowledged leadership of the press of 
the world. Is it too much to claim that no man ever attained a 
position of more commanding influence, or wielded it with a more 
direct and honest purpose to elevate his fellow-men and to promote 
their intellectual and social welfare ? Such is the position which 
the present and coming ages will justly accord him. 

Please make our most cordial congratulations to your honored 
guest on the occasion of his sixty-first birthday, and our best 
wishes for his long-continued health and happiness. 
Very truly, your much obliged and obedient servant, 

William Bkoss. 

FROM D. N. HASKELL, OF THE BOSTON "TRANSCRIPT." 

No man in the country better deserves to have his birthday hon- 
ored by his friends. Long may his useful life be spared in its full 
vigor, so that he may be able to see his cherished ideas carried into 
practical opera ton, so far as they can be in human society. 

Please give my personal regards to your distinguished guest on 
Saturday evening. Yours, truly, Daniel N. Haskell. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, New York. 

FROM GOVERNOR CLAFLIN, OF MASSACHUSETTS. 

Boston, Mass., Feb. M, 1875. 
A. J. Johnson — Bear Sir: I am unable to leave home to-day. 
. Give Mr. Greeley my cordial congratulations. He has the sincere 
regard and affection of many millions for his devotion to the great 
interest of liumanily. William Claflin. 

FROM MR. JOSEPH HOWARD, JR. 

New York, Jan. Slsf, 1872. 
Mr. and Mrs. Howard, Jr., present their compliments to Mr. and 
Mrs. A. J. Johnson, and accept with pleasure their invitation to 
meet Hon. Horace Greeley on the occasion of his sixty-first birth- 
day. If possible absence from the city should deprive Mr. and 
Mrs. Howard of the pleasure of Mrs. Johnson's hospitality, and of 



72 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

cordially congratulating the foremost man of his generation, they 
beg to be remembered most kindly to him. 

Joseph Howard, Jn. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, 323 West Fifty-seventh Street. 

FROM MR. JAMES PARTON, THE EMINENT BIOGRAPHER. 

New York, 303 East Eighteenth St., Feb. 23d, 1872. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— On my return from a month's 
absence from the city, I find upon my desk your polite invitation 
to meet Mr. Greeley at your house upon his birthday. I can not 
refrain, even after so long a time, from expressing the very great 
regret I feel at not being able to be present. Mrs. Parton joins me 
in this regret, and in thanking you for remembering us on an 
occasion so interesting. Very respectful'j', 

James Parton. 

FROM PROF. CHARLES DAYIES. 

FisHKiLL-ON-HuDSON, Jan. %Wi, 1872. 
To Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— Your invitation to meet at 
your house the Hon. Horace Greeley on the occasion of his sixty- 
first birthday would be accepted with great pleasure but for a pre- 
vious engagement to lecture at Washington on Saturday of next 
week. I would not, I assure you, without cause, miss an opportu- 
nity of testifying my respect to so pure a patriot, so noble a plii- 
lanthropist. Very truly, your obedient servant, 

Charles Davies. 

FROM MR. THEODORE TILTON. 

Sunday, Feb. Ath, 1872. 
My Dear Mr. Greeley — ^TJp till nightfall yesterday, Elizabeth 
and I expected to be of the great party last night. But a severe 
cold, rough and threatening, warned her not to be tempted into 
risking the journey from Brooklyn to New York. Meanwhile I 
drop this hurried line to say that I had a hundred kindly thoughts 
of you last evening, and wanted to be among the many to shake 
your hand and to say, God bless you ! Ever yours, 

Theodore Tilton. 



tmmttmaM 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



73 



PROM HON. JAMES BROOKS. 

New Yokk, Fth. M, 18T2. 

I happen to be in town to-night, and I should liavc had great 
pleasure in paying my respects to Mr. Greeley on his birthday if I 
had thought the visit would have been agreeable to him. We are 
about the same age ; we started in life together, went in the same 
profession, with like drawbacks upon our progress in that life; 
and in manhood we were co-workers in the Young Men's Whig 
Committee, when it was full of ability and character ; we were run 
on the same ticket for Congress, were elected together, and we 
met together as members of the National Constitutional Conven- 
tion. Our pens have often clashed, it is true, but the older I grow 
the more tolerant I feel toward those who differ from me in opin- 
ion ; and hence I should have felt pleased, now in advanced life, to 
leaven the days of " Auld Lang Syne," if I had felt sure my pres- 
ence would have been agreeable to him and all his friends this 
evening. Yours, respectfully, James Brooks. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, New York City. 

FROM ALEXANDER WILDER, ESQ. 

N. Y. State Council op Political Eeform, I 
Secretary's Office, 486 Broadway, )' 

Albany, N. Y. February 1st, 1872. 

Mr. Ai'JD Mrs. A. J. Johnson— I acknowledge gratefully your 
note inviting me to be present on Saturday evening to meet the 
Hon. Horace Greeley on the occasion of his sixty-first birthday, 
and accept with pleasure. 

Mr. Greeley requires no eulogy at our hands. His career for 
more than a third of a century past is a testimony far more elo- 
quent than any laudation of ours. Positive in his opinions, earn- 
est and zealous in upholding them, indefatigable in his exertions 
for others' well-being, he has earned the title of "Honorable," 
which you have awarded him, from the probity and integrity of 
his acts, rather than from the accident of a brief service in official 
position. He created a new public sentiment in the rural counties 
of this State. To the WeeUy Tribune, which the church-going 
men of Western New York had habitually read for ten years and 
upward, we were indebted, more than to any other agency, for the 

5 



HSraS 



7-i THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

uprising of the people in 1854, which originated the Republican 
Party, and eventuated in the glorious proclamation of freedom 
throughout our land to all the inhabitants thereof. 

May the life of Horace Greeley, a man without a vice to sully the 
luster of his reputation, long be spared to us, and his services con- 
tinued to make perfect the work which he has so long prosecuted, 
and to which our nation owes so much of its genuine glory. He 
magnifies his vocation, and his peers are few. 

Yours, truly, Alexander Wilder, 

222 West Thirty-fourth Street, New York City. 

FROM MR. FLETCHER HARPER, 
Franklin Square, New York, Jan. Z\st, 18T2. 

Mr, Fletcher Harper presents his compliments and thanks to Mr, 
and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, and regrets that he will be unable to attend 
the reception in honor of Mr. Greeley's sixty-first birthday. He 
gladly avails himself, however, on this his own sixty-seventh birth- 
day, to express his personal admiration and respect for Mr. Greeley 
as a citizen, a journalist, and a fellow-printer, and his sincerest 
wishes for Mr. Greeley's continued health, happiness, and useful- 
ness. 

"Ir. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, New York City. 

FROM GEN. FRANZ SIGEL. 

January SOth, 18T2. 
A. J, Johnson, Esq., and Lady, 323 West Fifty-seventh Street— 
I thank you for your invitation to meet Hon. Horace Greeley at 
your residence on the 3d proximo, and shall avail myself of the 
privilege to pay you my respects and to congratulate your renowned 
guest on theattainment of his sixty-first birthda}^ so appropriately 
observed and so worthy of honorable commemoration. 

I am, very respectfully, yours, etc., F. Sigel. 

FROM MR. P. T, BARNUM. 

New York, Jan. 21sf, 18T2. 
Mpv. and Mrs, A, J, Johnson — I shall take pleasure in accepting 
your invitation to help in honoring o:ie of the greatest and best 
men alive— Horace Greeley. Yours, truly, 

P. T. BARNU3I. 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECErTION. 



-O 



FROM " WARRINGTON." 
House op Representatives, Boston, Feb. 2d, 1873. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— I thank j^ou for myself and in 
behalf of Mrs. Kobinson for the invitation to meet Mr. Greeley, it 
would give me great pleasure to be present on any occasion de- 
signed to do honor to the founder of the Tribune, by far the greatest 
power, thus far, in American journalism, but my occupation com- 
pels me to remain here. Years, very truly, 

"W. S. Robinson. 

FROM MRS. RHODA E. WHITE. 

Grand (^entral Hotel, Jan. 23c?, 1C72. 
Mr. and Mrs. Johnson — With many thanks I accept your kind 
invitation to celebrate the birthday of my long-esteemed friend, 
Horace Greele}-. I am proud to find worth like his loved as well as 
venerated, for, after all, respect alone is too cold for natures like 
his, and I'm sure this homage to his affection will gratify him and 
his large circle of friends. Yours, Rhoda E. \yHiTE. 

FROM GEORGE B. LORING, M.D. 

Salem, Mass., Feb. \st, 18T2. 

My Dear Mr. Greelet — It would have given me great pleasure 
to witness the kindness and cordiality manifested to you by your 
friends, as a reward for a long life of high purpose, independent 
thought, good principles, and untiring industry. Whatever of 
wealth and official position a man may earn in this life, is small 
when compared to the confidence and respect he receives, and the 
effect he produces by impressing his thoughts on the public mind 
for good purposes. The monument he erects by efforts of this 
description is imperishable, and outlasts all the accidents which 
so often attract the multitude by their temporary and fleeting glit- 
ter and glow. 

For myself, I desire to thank you for what you have said and 
done for the emancipation of the public mind from much error 
and Idolatry, and for the light I have drawn from you to guide my 
own steps. And wishing you peace and prosperity, I am, Hon. 
Horace Greeley, truly your friend and servant, 

George B. Loiiing. 



;TjaBtii>uiomiai 



76 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

FROM PROP. WILLIAM HAYES WARD. 

Office of " The Independent," N. Y., Jan. 28(h, 1872. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— Owing to my wife's sickness, I 
am compelled to deny myself the great pleasure of meeting Hon. 
Horace Greeley. Please present him with my heartiest wishes that 
it may be many years yet before the infirmities of age shall compel 
him to retire from the field of journalism, which he has done so 
much to honor, or from the labors of philanthropy and reform, 
which owe so much to his unflagging zeal. 

Yery respectfully, William Hates Ward, 

Superintending Editor. 

FROM HON. JAMES HARLAN. 

Washington, D. C, Jan. 27t7i, 1872. 
I regret that public duties will prevent my acceptance of the kind 
invitation of Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson to join the friends of 
Hon. Horace Greeley on the evening of the 3d proximo, on the 
occasion of his sixty-first birthday. No one has been a greater 
admirer of his wonderful ability and great arguments than 

Yours, truly, James Harlan. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, New York. 

FROM MRS. PROF. BOTTA. 

25 West Thirty-seventh Street, Feb. Wi, 1872. 

My Dear Mr. Greeley— I was greatly disappointed in not 
being able to attend the entertainment in your honor on Saturday 
evening, but a bad cold and the unpleasant weather rendered it 
imprudent for me to go out, and Mr. Botta was called in another 
direction. I hope, however, that you M'ill not refuse my congratu- 
lations even at this late hour. 

My pleasant memories of you date back into the past, to the early 
days of the Neiv Yorker^ and from that time to this I have Avatched 
your ever-ascending course with increasing interest, till to-day I 
see you still in the vigor of manhood, a great and recognized power 
in the world, in the possession of so much to satisfy ambition, that 
there seems little left to wish for you ; but that you may attain 
whatever there is of good or desirable in life still wanting to fulfill 
your destiny, is the sincere wish of your friend, 

Anna L. Botta. 



Tlia GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 77 



FROM REV. THEODORE L. CUYLER, D.D. 

BuooKLYN, Jan. 3Ls,', 1872. 
Mt Dear Friend Johnson— Yes ! I will come, if possible, to 
give Uncle Horace a hand-shake, though I may be obliged to leave 
by half-past nine, as it is Saturday night. 
In haste, and with kind regards to Mrs. J., yours, ever, 

Theodore L. Cuylek. 

FROM HON. HENRY S. RANDALL. 

Cortland Village, Jan. 2Uh, 18T2. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— It would give myself and wife 
great pleasure to meet Mr. Greeley at your house on the occasion 
of his birthday did circumstances permit. Belonging to the other 
f-ide in politics, I have differed with him on a good many questions, 
but I have always believed him thoroughly true to his own convic- 
tions. 1 would gladly thus exhibit my personal respect for the 
earnestness, individuality, independence, and great talents which 
have enabled him to impress his views on the minds of his coun- 
trymen to an extent unsurpassed by any other editor of past or 
present times, but public engagements render my attendance im- 
practicable. Yours, very trulj'," Henry S. Randall. 

FROM RICHARD GOODMAN, ESQ. 

Lenox, Mass., Jan. 29(h, 1872. 

Mrs. Goodman and I regret very much that owing to pressir.g 
engagements in Boston on my part, we can not accept your invita- 
tion to meet Mr. Greeley and yourselves on the occasion of his 
sixty-first birthday. 

Mr. Greeley is not j'ct an old man ; in fact, with his habits he may 
be considered just in the prime of life ; yet, reflecting upon what 
he has done for the people of this country, the constant incitement 
by his writings to a correct course of life in public and private 
morals, in industries and in the arts which underlie our individu;;! 
and collective happiness, and further reflecting upon the witnessed 
results of these teachings, we are apt to look upon him more as a 
venerable instructoi than a middle-aged cotemporary ; and it is 
only when we come into personal contact with him that we forget 



78 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

all this fancied antiquity, and realize that the foremost man of our 
day is just on the crown of the hill and observing more clearly than 
ever the surrounding country. I trust that, like an ancient Roman 
mentioned by Cicero, he may live to his hundredth year, and when 
his active life has been sufficiently spent in the city, the balance 
may be passed in the country tilling the laud, in which, like the 
noblest men of the past, he finds excessive delight, and the close of 
his life be thus happier than any preceding period. If not inscribed 
on his momiment or tomb, that singular inscription — because ap- 
plicable to so few— will be his epitaph in history: "Many nations 
agree that in his day he was the leading man of the people ! " 

With our best regards to Mr. Greeley and yourselves, 

Very truly, Richard Goodman. 

Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, New York. 

FROM E. n. BABCOCK, ESQ. 

Brooklyn, Jan. 8Qth, 1872, 
A. J. Johnson, 'Esq.— Dear Sir : I only write to express inform- 
ally my personal interest in the man you thus propose to compli- 
ment, and my grateful appreciation of your kindness in extending 
an invitation to us to be present. My recollections of Mr. Greeley 
began with the circulation of the Log Cabin newspaper, while I 
was clerk in a county post-office, and I have not only followed his 
course from that day with interest, but I'ecognize him to-day as not 
only one of the most influential men of our times, but a leading 
representative of the true American. Hoping to be with you on 
the anticipated festive occasion, and wishing for Mr. Greeley, your- 
self, and your family many years of happiness and of usefulness, 
I am yours, very truly, E. II. Babcock. 

FROM MR. AND MRS, HENRY T. BLOW. 

St. Louis, Jan. mth, 18T2. 
Mr. and Mrs. Henry T. Blow deeply regret the impossibility of 
meeting with the many friends of Mr. Greeley to do him honor, 
and beg of Mr. and Mrs. Johnson to convey to him their warmest 
congratulations and their heartiest wishes for his continued health 
and happiness. Mr. Blow especially regrets his inability to tender 
in person his affectionate congratulations, for he regards his ac- 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 79 

quaintance with Mr. Greeley as one of the most delightful episodes 
of his life, and feels that he has gained, through intercourse with 
him, increased faith in high political and social truths, and in- 
creased confidence in the ultimate triumph of right ideal. Mr. 
Blow respects Mr. Greeley as a representative of the highest type 
of American manhood, and as a leader who, perhaps, more than 
any other, is forming the minds of the young men of the country, 
and developing in them that clearness of mental perception and 
honesty of purpose upon which depend the safety of the Union and 
the perpetuity of republican institutions, Henry T. Blow. 

Me. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson, New York. 

FROM FRANCES D. GAGE. 

26 W. Sixteenth St., N. Y., Jan. mil, 1872. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— I regret that the state of my health 
will prevent my acceptance of your invitation for Feb. 3d. Hoping 
that many birthdays of happiness and health are yet in store for 
Mr. Greeley, I am, respectfully, Frances D. Gage. 

FROM ^y. W. HALL, m.d. 

******! have long considered Mr. Greeley as one 
among the very few incorruptible men of the time, a true man, and 
I always feel glad. when anything is done which shows private, 
social, or public appreciation of the maker of presidents. 

Mr. A. J. Johnson, New York. W. W. Hale. 

FROM A. A. LIVERMORE, D.D., LL.D. 

Meadville, Pa., Feb. ls(, 1872. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson — The polite note which I received 
to-day, to meet the Hon. Horace Greeley at your house on Satur- 
day evening the 3d inst., on the occasion of his sixty-first birth- 
day, and to do so in company with my wife, demands a reply. 
Many points of interest, sympathy, and friendship exist between 
Mr. Greeley and myself, of which I am reminded by this kind note, 
for which I thank you, as does also Mrs. L. We were bcrn or 
lived in the same good old State, New Hampshire, and in the same 
good old county of Hillsboro, he in Amherst, I in Wilton. We 
read the same good old newspaper, the weekly Farmer's Cabinet, 



80 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

and have belouged to the same party, Whigs formerly and Republi- 
cans latterly. My sixty-first birthday occurs Oct. 30th, 1872, while 
he is enjoying his on Feb. 3d, 1872. With him I believe in a tariff", 
and in Unitarian Universalism, or Universalist Unitarianism, 
whichever way you please to put it. I could go on to specify other 
points, but the above will suffice, unless I should add, I have great 
faith in Mr. Greeley, a point in which, I hope, he would not, and, I 
presume, does not, dissent from me. 

Few men in America, or in any country, in fact, have done so 
much good during the last forty years as Mr. Greeley. The Tribune 
has been a mighty, yes, almost an almighty, power for the political, 
social, and moral elevation of our country. No mortal can compute 
issues to which our affairs, in many a dark and dangerous crisis, 
would have come if the Tribime had been counted out. It is still, 
and I pray God it may ever be, a mighty bulwark against the in- 
coming floods of corruption, a light-house of the skies, to warn the 
good ship of State how to steer clear of the rocks and shoals, and 
how to make the port at last. His numerous friends, in our own 
and other lands, will most heartily wish him many happy returns 
of this blessed birthday, and that many brilliant campaigns may 
yet remain to him in that magnificent crusade which he has always 
been making against ignorance, against shams of every kind, 
against all that degrades, belittles, or saddens man, and in vindica- 
tion of all that makes man more man, and woman more woman. 

Give Mr. Greeley my warm love for all he has been and done, and 
believe me your and his very cordial friend and obedient servant, 

A. A. LiVERMOKE. 

FROM C. ALLEN, M.D. 

Yeknon, N. J., Feb. 2d, 1872. 
A. J. Johnson — Dear Sir: * * * The occasion is one that 
I would most happily participate in. I know of no public man 
more worthy of being honored, and I am satisfied his country has 
more honor in store for him, as well as more work for him to do. 
There are many points in his career which are characteristic and 
worthy of commendation, but the one which is just now fresh in 
the public mind, and uppermost in my own, I think about as impor- 
tant as any — tliat is, his life-long intolerance of extravagance and 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 



81 



corruption, especially in his own party. It may have been natural 
to Democrats, but for Republicans to forget public duty in handling 
public money and holding office there is no excuse. They richly 
deserve the scorn of all, especially of their political friends, and 
the world owes a debt of gratitude to those journalists who fear- 
lessly hold them up to the contempt they deserve. Allow me, there- 
fore, to close with the following sentiment : Honor and gratitude 
to the man who has illustrated the noblest function in sparing nei- 
ther friends nor foes in exposing corruption ! Yours, truly, 

C. Allen. 

FROM HON. J. n. BARRETT. 

"TrurES and Chrokicle" Office, 1 
Cincinnati, O., Jan. SOth, 1872. f 

Mr. a. J. Johnson— Dear Sir: Accept my hearty thanks for 
your kind invitation to be present with those who are to give 
friendly greeting to Mr. Greeley on his sixty-first birthday. My 
reverent appreciation of the character and career of the foremost 
journalist of America, and my personal regard for a man whom no 
honest heart has ever really known but to love— amid whatever 
conflicts of opinion— make me profoundly regret that it is out of 
my power to be with you on that occasion. Words of sympathy 
and congratulation, tributes of respect and affection, mementos as 
precious as were ever wont to honor the illustrious in olden time, 
will, at your festive gathering, serve but imperfectly to indicate the 
common sentiments of Mr. Greeley's brethren of the press, and of 
the people of the nation, toward one whose whole soul has hitherto 
been devoted to worthy aims and to honorable labors for the good 
of humanity. May another score of years, no less rich in fruit and 
bright with renown, be added to a life that has so powerfully influ- 
enced our own times, and bring new luster to a name which future 
ages will cherish, is the prayer of, yours, very trul3% 

Joseph H. Barrett. 



FROM MR. AND MRS. CHAMPION BROWN. 

Montreal, Jan. ^Ifh, 18T2. 
My Deak Sir — I am in receipt of your esteemed invitation to 
meet Hon. Mr. Greeley on the evening of February 3d. Although 
not supposing that I have an individual remembrance by Mr. 



82 THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTION. 

Greeley, he may remember the President of the New England 
Society, which honored position was mine during his visit here a 
few years eince. We have to communicate our regret, not being 
able to nnmber among your favored guests on the occasion. Both 
Mrs. Brown and self feel great plejisure in being considered by you 
and Mrs. Johnson. It will ever be our satisfaction to confirm our 
views from early youth as influenced by your distinguished guest, 
and rejoice that America is so largely responsible to him for the 
safety of its institutions nnder his wide influence. Declare to him 
we will be the repi-esentatives of his sentiments wherever we arc ; 
and, with most cordial greetings and esteem, as also to the juniors 
of your weJl-remembered and esteemed family, 
We are, very trnly yours, 

Mr. and Mks. Champion Brown. 
Me. a. J. Johnson, New York. 

FROM HON. JOSEPH WHITE, LL.D. 

Commonwealth of Massachusetts, \ 
State House, Feb. 2d, 1872. f 

A. J. Johnson, Esq.— Z)(?ar Sir: I am sincerely thankful for 

the honor conferred upon me of an Invitation from yourself and 

lady to be present at the meeting on Saturday in honor of Horace 

Greeley's birthday. No other occasion would more strongly tempt 

me to visit New York than the one in view. From the days of the 

Loff CaM/i to the present time his utterances on political affairs, 

and more especially on political economy, have been freighted with 

knowledge and true wisdom. I am sorry to say that the imperious 

demands of public duty forbid the hopes of the enjoyment which I 

should have otherwise experienced. Very truly yours, 

J. White. 

FROM CHARLES H. BRAINARD, ESQ. 

Medford, Mass., Feb. 1st, 18T2. 
Mr. and Mrs. A. J. Johnson— Z^ear Friends: There are few 
public men in the United States for whom I entertain a higher 
respect than for Mr. Greeley. I have ever been a hearty sympa- 
thizer with his humanitarian ideas, and during the anti-slavery 
conflict my faith in the ultimate triumph of the cause, which he so 
ably defended, was strengthened by his brave and eloquent words. 



THE GREELEY BIRTHDAY RECEPTIOX. 83 

\Yhen, fifteen years ago, I published a group of seven portraits of 
prominent anti-slavery men, with the title of " Champions of Free- 
dom,''' I then expressed my admiration of Mr. Greeley, and mj^ 
appreciation of his services in behalf of oppressed humanity, by 
placing his portrait in the group. 

I heartily and affectionately congratulate this fearless defender of 
freedom in view of the fact that his sisty-flrst birthday finds him 
in the full possession of all his faculties, and also that he has lived 
to see, in the evening of his days, the triumph of the glorious 
cause to the advocacy of which he devoted the best powers of his 
early manhood. 

Regretting that other engagements will prevent mo from accept- 
ing your invitation, I remain, Yours, very truly, 

Charles H. Brainard. 

FROM PROF. A. GUYOT, LL.D. 

Princeton, N. J., April M, 1872. 
A. J. Johnson, Esq.— J/y Dear Sir: We enjoyed your delightful 
Greeley party very much, for it was the most successful and best 
conducted of the season. Please tender to Mrs. Johnson, and re- 
ceive yourself, the thanks of Mrs. Guj^ot and myself for your po- 
liteness on this occasion and for the opportunity of seeing under 
the same roof so many distinguished persons of all the classes 
which adorn society by then- talents and culture. 

Very truly, yours, A. Guyot. 



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